Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold
by gothicjedi666
Summary: This is the second part of my Skyrim Jump Chain story and the final part as well. Which means that I actually finished a Jump! Sure this story is only ten chapters and not as long as some of the other stories I've done for Jump Chain, but I want to stop writing this Jump before I no longer enjoy the setting. M rated for good reasons.
1. Chapter 1

**Reviews**

**The Dark Wolf Shiro**

I don't need to address this now since you know that she does attend Hogwarts.

**Chronus1326**

If you've read my Jumper Gothic Harry Potter story then you'll know that I do plan for something major to happen in that world, it will just take some time for it to start

**dylansandy1993**

I'll try to keep what you said in mind.

**soulreaper31337**

As you now know the HP Jump will have a crossover of sorts. Also I plan for Jump Chan to have a role at the school.

**Allhailthesith**

His powers aren't unless he just doesn't need to use them very often as he likes to deal with problems in ways that won't cause more problems later. The problem the more over powered characters have is that they don't change things for the better in the long term. They just prevent things from getting worse by solving problems as quickly as they can with their powers.

**Author Notes**

This is the second part of my Skyrim Jump Chain story and the final part as well. Which means that I actually finished a Jump!

Sure this story is only ten chapters and not as long as some of the other stories I've done for Jump Chain, but I want to stop writing this Jump before I no longer enjoy the setting.

Feel free to ignore this next part as I'm keeping the short version of the setup here for my own uses, makes it easier for me to keep track of things.

**Skyrim Jump.**

Gothic

Budget - 1000cp

Age - 29

Identity - Mage (focused on conjuration)

Race - N/A

Gender - Male

Region - Skyrim

Standing Stone - Lover

Clever Craft - 1000cp

Impact - 900cp

Duel Casting - 750cp

Smith - 650cp

Black Star - 500cp

Skyforge - 300cp

Ore Vein - 100cp

Hail Companion - 50cp

Hail Companion - 0cp

Morgana Pendragon

Budget - 500cp

Age - 27

Identity - Mage (focused on alteration)

Race - N/A

Gender - Female

Region - Skyrim

Standing Stone - Mage

Imperial Luck - 400cp

Clever Craft - 400cp

Impact - 300cp

Knapsack - 200cp

Staff of Magnus - 0cp

Allnel Forestwind

Budget - 500cp

Age - 26

Identity - Thief

Race - Bosmer

Gender - Female

Region - Skyrim

Standing Stone - The Tower

Archer - 500cp

Stealth - 500cp

Leather Armour - 500cp

Steel Bow - 500cp

Steel Sword - 500cp

Steel Dagger - 500cp

Nightingale Armour - 350cp

Nightingale Blade - 150cp

Skeleton Key -0cp

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold**

**Part 1**

**Dead Drop Mine. Skyrim.**

Morgana had found this place some time ago while exploring Castle Dawnguard, and the caverns beneath it. This mine was hard to get to, and it clearly hadn't been used for a very long time, which I found odd as it contained a lot of corundum ore which was ready for the taking.

Corundum was a metal than could be mixed with iron to create stronger alloys. The most common alloy gotten from mixing corundum with iron was steel, which they made from an equal amounts of iron and corundum. Smaller amounts of corundum could be used to create lower-quality alloys that were only slightly stronger than iron.

In my world corundum was the crystalline form of aluminium oxide, and typically contained traces of iron, titanium, vanadium and chromium, which wasn't at all what like the mineral they called corundum in this world.

The two types of mineral not only looked different they were made up of different things, a simple scan with my omni-tool let me know that. Which made me wonder why the local version of corundum didn't have a different name.

Also the corundum of my word was a naturally transparent material, but could have different colours depending on the impurities in its crystalline structure. However the metal in this reality was always the came colour

Not that I was thinking about the mineral too much, and it wasn't important that it be dug up. Cameron, Forestwind and I were down here because I'd fantasised about chained up females doing mining work for me.

Which was going on right now, my Terminator and my bosmer were both totally nude, chained together and were grunting quite a bit as they both worked to gather the corundum. The result of their labour had found its way into an old metal cart, which had once been used by the minors, but we'd carry in a pouch of holding once we were ready to leave. I might have use for it in the future.

"This isn't as much fun as I thought it would be" Forestwind admitted "I'm cold, dirty, the ground hurts my feet, and it smells really bad down here. Why didn't we do this inside the Cosmic Warehouse?".

While I had a warehouse addon that contained an ore vein which could be mined I'd chosen this place for a good reason.

"We're not staying in this world for long" I explained "So I wanted to see some more of it before we leave, and you might enjoy this if it was in the warehouse, its more realistic out here".

My sneaky thief accused me of becoming a sadist, and I could see her point.

"There must be better places we could mine in" she was soon saying "Somewhere a little warmer and with more valuable stuff to mine".

Well there was a place I'd always wanted to visit in the flesh, and it did have stuff to mine. Only it was dangerous down there, were as this mine was totally lifeless aside from the moss and bugs. Still it would be worth a visit.

"Do you know how to get to Blackreach?" I asked the Bosmer.

I'd created her as a native guide so she should know the way. I recalled that it involve a lift in a dwarven ruin, but I was sure that there would be other ways down there.

"Sure do boss" the cute little wood elf said "Let's pack and go!".

Cameron was less eager to be off.

"I want to finish this first" she said "Our master is enjoying the show".

To be fair I was, I didn't know exactly what it was about the scene, it could be the nudity, the chains, the grunts of efforts, or maybe it was the combination of these elements. Whatever the reason I wanted to see more of this sight. In fact I should use my omni-tool to record it.

"Okay fine" said Forestwind, giving in "At least we can take a shower afterwards".

Soon she was swinging her pickaxe and grunting in effort along side Cameron, it really was something I enjoyed watching.

(Line Break)

**Blackreach. Skyrim.**

My first impressions of Blackreach was that the place had a certain beauty about it that was unlike anywhere else I'd ever been before, and I had been to many exotic places since starting Jump Chain all those years ago.

What little light there was down here emanated from the giant fungi that had some sort of bioluminescence effect going on, as well as a large and dim sphere that must have served as a fake sun at some point, but it had grown dim.

In the distance I could see a dark and towering structure, which I knew had been a stronghold of sorts for the Dwemer in the past. While the possibility of looting the underground settlement held appeal to me, it wasn't the main reason as to why Morgana, Cameron, Forestwind and I had ventured down here.

We did not immediately begin that investigation; once we had realised the sheer scope of Blackreach, it became clear that we could be here for some time and that we'd have to come back later unless we could find somewhere secure to sleep.

"Let's check out that building" I decided.

Once my Bosmer had unlocked the door, Cameron opened the way into dwarven style house before stepping inside, and only when she was satisfied we weren't walking into an ambush did he allow the rest of us inside. The ruined Dwemer building had been small on the outside, and the inside was no different.

Upon looking around I saw what appeared to be a quaint hovel, and anything within that was of Dwemer make had to be centuries old and yet it was a good state despite all the time that had passed. I could see the bowls on the shelves still all intact, and shelves that looked as sturdy as they must have done hundreds of years ago.

It was such a shame that I'd never be able to see that civilisation at its height, I could only imagine what life must have been like for the dwarves, and who knew what wonders they'd made that were now lost to time, buried somewhere deep underground.

Looking at the non-dwarven stuff I saw that there were the remains of a blanket on the bed, and scraps of cloth scatted about the place as well the rotten remains of a book. Only the ingredients for alchemy, and enchantment remained, having been preserved with magic.

I'd seen such magic used before, Serana's mother, whom Serana had gone to see, had used some sort of powerful spell to keep her alchemy lab in order while she was hiding out in the Soul Carin. I'd have to investigate such magic once I got to the College of Winterhold.

Also there was a skeleton. Cameron and Forestwind, examined the body while Morgana, who unlike the rest of us had forgone armour, practically skipped over to the ingredients and the enchantment equipment.

The body had two Dwemer arrows stuck within its ribs, yet the door had been locked, the man, if this was a man, must have been able to stay alive long enough to seal himself in this small building. Impressive considering that he'd had two arrows in his chest.

"The skeleton isn't is from a human" Cameron reported "This was a male Altmer, and he died sometime ago. I can't be precise on any time of death, and the cause of death should be clear".

A journal was clutched in its body fingertips, which Forestwind noticed and tried to remove, when she did the skeleton's hand crumpled into dust, she just brushed the dust off and then handed me the journal so that I could read it.

Given the good state of the journal it was safe to assume that some sort of preservation magic had also been cast upon it. Clearly there was a lot more to the local magic than throwing fire balls around and summoning deadra.

"His name was Sinderion" I told the group "and he came here looking for Crimson Nirnroot just as we have".

_4E 58 Second Seed, Middas_

_I've spent a large portion of my life unraveling the mystery of the nirnroot and yet I still feel unfulfilled. The trilling sound this strange herb emits seems to taunt me, to push me even harder to discover its secrets. Even after a generous and indomitable traveler became a field collector in my stead, and provided me with five score of the nirnroot, I was only able to muster what I consider a mediocre alchemical creation at best. This only served to strengthen my hunger and whet my appetite for the solution._

_It wasn't until over fifty years later that the answer to my prayers was carried into my basement workshop at the West Weald Inn. The first thing I heard was the familiar tone - that unmistakable warble unique to the nirnroot. But when I turned around, my heart leapt and a chill ran down my spine. This was indeed a nirnroot, but of a variety the likes of which I have never seen. The herb was awash in a spectacular array of red hues, each leaf seemingly emblazoned with innumerable variations of crimson. I couldn't move - I was completely transfixed. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a species of nirnroot with such a unique property._

_After an awkward silence, I finally managed to stammer out a few questions to the traveler who'd brought me this treasure. He told me his name was Obeth Arnesian, a treasure-seeker from Skyrim. Apparently, he'd been exploring a vast subterranean network of grand caverns called Blackreach and had stumbled across what he dismissed as "a noisy red weed." His expedition was largely unsuccessful and he didn't want to leave the caves empty-handed, so Obeth picked one of the crimson nirnroot to bring home. He said that it took some time, but eventually he was pointed my way and that perhaps I'd pay a fair price for it._

_Before I could gather my wits and ask anything else, Obeth offered to sell me the crimson nirnroot sample, a map showing me how to find Blackreach and the strange key needed to breach its outer defences. It took me mere moments to decide. Obeth left Skingrad a thousand septims richer, but I would have easily paid ten times that amount to obtain the sample alone._

_It took a year of planning, but I was able to pack up and sell my workshop and make my way into Skyrim. Before delving headfirst into Blackreach, I knew I needed to set up a new laboratory, but wished to do so in seclusion. After making inquiries at the College of Winterhold, of which I was an honorary member, I was directed to speak to Avrusa Sarethi, a student of botanical alchemy who had a small farm near the city of Riften. By bartering my knowledge of nirnroot cultivation, I was able to secure Sarethi Farm as a launching point for my field research. I kept the knowledge of the crimson nirnroot a secret from Avrusa, but imparted everything else I knew to her in exchange for her hospitality._

_A few months passed, but I was finally ready to enter Blackreach. I used the Runed Lexicon that Obeth had provided and descended into the depths. My goal was to gather enough crimson nirnroot to produce my greatest alchemical creation to date - I was certain it would take at least thirty of them to provide the necessary catalyst._

_This brings me to the present. My initial research seems to indicate that the crimson nirnroot has a similar affinity for moisture as the garden variety, but also maintains some sort of symbiotic relationship with the enormous fungi that inhabits Blackreach. _

_It is my guess that the fungi itself is a source of water, absorbing it from the moist subterranean air like a sponge. This provides the ideal environment for the nirnroot to grow. Unfortunately, the crimson nirnroot appears to have a vastly shortened lifespan, and they are in no way plentiful down here. Gathering thirty of them will be quite the challenge, but hopefully the denizens of Blackreach will allow me to gather my samples unhindered._

"Alas they didn't" I said once I'd finished reading out loud "Poor man he was so close to getting what he wanted".

Morgana, who had now finished packing up everything worth taking, looked over to me.

"Once we get to the college we should finish this Sinderion's work and publish the results" Morgana suggested "We can share credit so that he is remembered".

She wasn't only one with something to say.

"There's a woman called Avrusa Sarethi who might be interested in this Crimson Nirnroot" Forestwind told me " She's a Dunmer apothecary living at Sarethi Farm, she grows normal nirnroot and might know something about this red nirnroot, if nothing else you can buy the regular nirnroot from here for your alchemy".

Those both sounded like nice ideas, but first of all we needed to find the Crimson Nirnroot.

"This building isn't a good base of operations" Cameron was now saying "It's out in the open, there's only one way in or out, and it's cramped. We need to set up our base camp somewhere else".

She was corrected, and I would need to access the Cosmic Warehouse as well so that the stuff we looted from this place could be safely stored away. Plus we needed to set up some equipment that would allow us to easily beam out of this place.

"Let's get moving" I said.

(Line Break)

**Blackreach Skyrim.**

We left the hovel with much fuller pouches of holding, having taking everything worth taking from that building, including an attunement sphere, and continued through Blackreach. As we carefully moved about Morgana collected the red coloured nirnroot.

At one point Cameron located a Falmer that had been resting lazily at the bottom of an underground staircase and I hardly thought twice before ordering her to terminate the creature as I knew them to be horrid things that would slaughter us all if it could.

For the most part we kept to the road while exploring this amazing place, and we made sure to steer clear of the Dwarven Centurion that was stationed near a small lake. It looked inactive, but I didn't want to risk waking it up as while I could defeat such a foe the battle would draw the attention of more falmer.

Not that we could avoid those little monsters forever, Forestwind had to put some arrows in the heads of some Falmer which we found patrolling the outside of the Dwemer ruins, that caused some attention to become focused on us, and the next thing we knew we were in combat with more of the horrible things.

On the plus side I did discover that the souls of the Falmer could be stored in a Grand Soul Gem, which was strange as the souls of mortals, like humans, elves and so on, needed black soul gems normally. The former Snow Elves had de-evolved to the point that they couldn't be considered people anymore, at least in a spiritual sense.

When we got inside the fortress we were attacked by some crazy people as well as more of the falmar, who had rapidly become my least favourite species in the whole multiverse. This was really saying something as I'd met both the Reapers and the Wraith.

Whether they were simply mad or for some strange reason were worshipping the underground elves, I had no idea. But they were armed, and clearly appeared to be a threat, so we killed them without remorse.

My intention was to clear out this entire fortress and perhaps most of Blackreach so that my group could spend days done here if needs be. The Eye of Magnus, which would destroy this world if not dealt with, was still weeks away from going boom, so we had time to explore and to exploit this place for all it was worth.

(Line Break)

**Blackreach. Skyrim.**

After a lot of fighting and looking around we managed to find somewhere down here that Cameron found acceptable as a temporary base of operations. With more room and access to the Cosmic Warehouse the cyborg felt confident that we'd be safe here when we needed to rest.

The dwarves called this place the War Quarters. They were barracks and we'd found the building to be devoid of any creatures or automatons, it was also in good shape, which made it comfortable to stay in.

It was a typical deserted Dwemer building to all appearances. Upon entering the first room we'd seen a balcony at the rear with a door accessing it and a doorway in front of the balcony, to the south.

That door had lead into another empty room, with an unlocked door to the east, opening into a T-junction. To the south was a sleeping chamber, with seven beds arranged in a fan formation. To the north there was another empty room, with a stone double bed in an alcove to the north and a door to the west, which I was using to access the Cosmic Warehouse.

I was staying in the room with the stone double bed, which I guessed had been for the officer of the troops who would have shared the other room. Although the fact that the bed was larger and alone didn't make up it being literally rock hard. Not that I would be complaining for long as Cameron would sort out a good mattress.

On the plus side this space to myself allowed to start recording some notes. Forestwind and Morgana had gone into the other room so that they could sort out the fungus and other plants that we'd gathered today.

Also I suspected that they would be dividing out some of the loot between them as we'd found plenty of dwarven stuff while down here and since we couldn't replicate the metal the dwarves used that gave the stuff made from the metal some value.

"Begin recording" I said to my omni-tool, well actually I was taking to the AI Cortana who was inside the device "Blackreach was originally colonised by the Dwemer of Skyrim. They built a number of Great Lifts to provide quick transport to the surface, and connected Blackreach to three of their settlements: Alftand, Mzinchaleft and Raldbthar".

I'd like to explore them as well, but this reality kept nearly getting destroyed so I didn't think that we'd be here much longer.

"While down here they constructed roads and buildings, going so far as to create the Silent City in the centre of Blackreach" was what I said next "By the looks of things Dwarven Centurions were installed to guard the cavern's roads. Also the Dwemer farmed mushrooms which seem to grow very well in the damp environment. If we ever try to grow some our own we'll have to try to recreate the environment".

That plants down here lived in very different conditions than most other plants, there was no sunlight here or pollinating insects.

"Blackreach is a deep underground cavern which has developed its own ecosystem due to its unusual size and time spend undisturbed by the rest of Nirn" I recorded "Blackreach has plenty of natural resources that I plan to take advantage of including some interesting minerals".

I noticed that Cameron was now dragging my mattress into the room having sorted out the lady's beds first.

"The Tower of Mzark, which can be accessed here in Blackreach, contains a device used to transfer the knowledge of an Elder Scroll onto a lexicon" I added to the record "However I don't want to interfere with the Dragonborn's mission so we'll be avoiding that place".

I stopped the recording when I noticed that my Terminator was looking at me. She did that a lot, but I was sure that she wanted something.

"It's time to have sex" Cameron told me "You need to sleep and you always sleep better after an orgasm".

Since I did want to have sex I began to undress only Cameron wasn't willing to wait, and taking off my shirt she threw it to the ground. Her eagerness suggested that she was the one who wanted to have sex and this was just about helping to go to sleep.

Now I watched with interest as my bodyguard unhooked her bra with superhuman swiftness. She pulled back and cupped her breasts in her hands before she began playing with them.

"I want you inside me" she said "I need it".

She could be a kinky little thing at times.

"Is this what you need?" I said, while taking out my cock.

She nodded.

"Get on your knees and suck it!" I ordered, intending to remind who was the boss.

Cameron obeyed, and a moment later she took my cock into her mouth and I forced myself deep into her throat. Then I clutched the back of her head with both hands and fucked her face mercilessly.

It all felt great the warmth of her mouth, the tightness of her throat, I simply savoured the experience, enjoying the power I had over her.

"On the bed!" I commanded "On your knees!"

Cameron crawled on the bed and spread her legs wide. I pulled her ass cheeks apart and inspected her holes, deciding which I wanted. Then I rubbed the head of my cock against her pussy while asking her if she wanted to be fucked.

"Yes," she responded.

It would take more than that.

"Beg me for it," I ordered.

It made me feel good to have much a powerful female so willing to obey me.

"Please, Master" she pleaded "Use your fucktoy. Please".

The desperation in her voice sounded so genuine and I couldn't resist shoving cock into her pussy and soon I began to fuck her. His hips jerked back and forth as he pumped her tight, cyborg pussy. She was unbelievably tight. I could feel the walls of her cunt squeezing my dick.

I leaned forward to gain better leverage, as I pushed myself into her allowing the weight of my body to drive my cock deeper into Cameron's pussy. I felt some sort of innate, primal need to go deeper with each thrust, to bury manhood up the the hilt.

"You like that, bitch?" I asked.

Not that I really cared if she did. I just liked to hear her talk dirty.

"Yes, Master! Yes!" was her reply.

As I continued to fuck her I picked up his pace. I desperately wanted to cum. Just to use her for my pleasure with no concern for what she wanted. Which was to please me, and she kept on encouraging me to cum inside her until finally I did Once I pulled out and laid on my back, exhausted.

(Line Break)

**Blackreach. Skyrim.**

Ore Veins

# of Corundum 14

# of Ebony 6

# of Geode 34

# of Gold 3

# of Moonstone 2

# of Orichalcum 3

# of Quicksilver 3

# of Silver 3

I looked down the list and found that I was rather impressed by the sheer amount of mineral wealth to be found down here. Some of the geode veins had provide a forture in soul gems, all of which I was sure would be used as while I had reusable soul gem that would contain the souls of mortals, it could only hold one at a time. Plus going around harvesting humans souls wasn't an accepted practice in most realities.

"We've gotten plenty of Crimson Nirnroot as well" Forestwind reported to me "More than enough to brew up all kinds of potions".

I was pleased to hear this, and I was pleased by how well things had gone down here once I had deployed a small army of security bots in order to clear the place out. I wouldn't normally deploy machine soldiers here in Skyrim due to the amount of attention such an action would bring my way, but there were no people down here to notice.

Well no people who would spread word about an army of metal men. There had been plenty of falmer around here, and a giant, I regretted the death of the giant, it had been an accident as the creature had charged a squad of bots, but I didn't care for all the dead famler.

"We need to clear up any evidence of our presence here" I said to Forestwind "The Dragonborn might pass through Blackreach on their way to claim the Elder Scroll that's over in the tower and I don't want to get in their way".

The Dragonborn may have already been here I didn't know. What I did know for sure was the Alduin hadn't been defeated, the World-Eater was taking his sweet time in doing his job. Not that it would matter if I didn't get the college and make sure that the Eye of Magnus didn't go boom.

Thankfully Morgana had used her CP for this Jump to buy a copy of the staff required to shut down the Eye, so if we couldn't find the real thing then she'd be able to prevent the big magic explosion that was due in a matter of weeks.

"It won't take too long to tidy up" Forestwind said to me.

Indeed it wouldn't. Cortana controlled the bots and so they would be easy to gather together for storing back in the warehouse, however before I ordered that I wanted the bodies cleaned up.

"Go tell everyone to met me in the War Quarters as soon as possible" I ordered "I've set the equipment we need for a quick beam out".

It hadn't take much to sort that out, the equipment required was a little more than a probe, which, would remain here in case we needed to beam back into Blackreach for any reason. Not that we should need to as while it was cool down here we had other things to be getting on with.

"Sure thing boss" my Bosmer said as she rushed off.

I figured that I had enough time for one more quick look around before I headed for our base and cleared up there. Before I could get very far I found Cameron hunched over a dead falmer, and while the smell was awful I managed to get close enough to see that she was performing an autopsy.

"Why are you doing?" I felt compelled to ask.

Every so often Cameron got it into her CPU to find an interest in something that nothing to do with me. Sometimes she put a lot of effort into these hobbies of hers, and other times she abandoned them quickly, like with her efforts to figure out Dwarven automatons.

"I'm studying biology" she told me

Hopefully this was an interest she'd forget about in short order as I really didn't want her cutting open our enemies. Vaporising the bad guys was so much nicer, no fuss no muss.


	2. Chapter 2

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold **

**Part 2 **

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim**

"Cross the bridge at your own peril. The way is dangerous and the gate will not open. You shall not gain entry" a voice said.

Those were the first words I heard as Morgana, Cameron and I tried to enter College of Winterhold. Not entirely unexpected given that I'd played Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and so had been expecting those words, it was also very amusing to hear them spoken by a real person.

While we could have left this world already since we'd defeated Harkon I'd decided to stick around for a while so that Morgana and I could join the College of Winterhold with the intention of checking out what a magical education was like.

Morgana wanted to go to Hogwarts, and while I was not as opposed to the idea as I had been, it made a lot of sense to me for her to spend some time at the college before committing to spending years at Hogwarts.

Also we needed to pick some materials that would be useful in future Jumps since we wouldn't be able to return to this reality unless I successfully completed Jump Chain, as such we needed to gather stuff for alchemy and enchantment. The students of this college would have access to such materials.

My Bosmer was going to handle the gathering of alchemy ingredients as she had the skills to safely navigate the wildness, and she knew what to get. This left Morgana and I free to focus on things for enchantment, not just souls gems, but also enchanted items that we could learn to create for ourselves by destroying the originals.

"What do you hope to find within?" we were asked.

There were a number of acceptable answers, but only one that I could give truthfully without giving too much away.

"I seek knowledge" I said honestly.

"I seek power" Morgana answered.

Interestingly the woman baring our way didn't seem to disapprove of either answer, and she didn't seek clarification either. She also didn't bother to ask Cameron, which didn't surprise me as my bodyguard was very good at getting people not to notice her.

"I believe the College has what you seek" we were now being told "The question now is what can you offer the College? Not just anyone is allowed inside and those wishing to enter must show some degree of skill. A small test, if you will".

Hopefully this test wouldn't be something too demanding as while I was sure I could pass the test easily I didn't want anyone to know just how skilled I actually was. It was never a good idea to let anyone know too much of what you could do.

"I'll take your test, then," I answered confidently.

"Excellent," she said. "A standard spell for one skilled in conjuration magic is the summon Flame Atronach spell. Cast it for me".

This test wouldn't challenge me at all and also it wouldn't require me to show off either as it was part of my background for this world, which was off a mage skilled in conjuration magic.

"Okay, I can do that," I told her, while feeling more than a little relieved "Stand back"

To start with I looked down at the seal, an eye with five points directed outwards. Then I held up my hand and summoned the flaming creature.

Morgana had a similar test, only she was asked to use a different spell to me, which was fine.

"Well done indeed," the Altmer Mage said with a smile. "I think you'll both make superb editions to the College. Welcome".

The local paused for a moment.

"I'll lead you across the bridge" she told us "Once you're inside, you'll want to speak with Mirabelle Ervine, she's our Master Wizard, so be respectful".

There was another pause

"Please, follow me" we were instructed.

With that, she started off to the bridge, with my small group following close behind and I spent most of the trip across wondering why they still hadn't fixed the bridge. It was dangerous to cross and really someone should have it repaired.

If magic couldn't do it then they could hire stone masons. That was when I decided that if I ever became the Arch-Mage of this College that would be one of the first things I'd deal with even if I had to pay a fortune for it, not that I was likely to stick around long enough to see the work done.

As I'd been instructed to I reported to the Master Wizard, along with Morgana, but I had to wait to get her attention as she was currently speaking with an Altmer named Ancano, whom I recognised as part of the Thalmor organisation.

While watching them talk I corrected myself: If I ever became Arch-Mage I'd expel Ancano and then worry about the bridge. Not that I'd need to as I was pretty sure that he'd die before the Eye of Magnus was dealt with.

Once the female Wizard was done with the annoying Elf she gave us a tour of the College, showing us to my quarters, which were not the shared quarters of the other students since they had rooms for couples.

While we'd stick to the private room it wouldn't be such a bad idea to spend some time with our fellow students and while I wouldn't be around for long I did intend to rise high in the ranks while here even if wasn't in any official way.

Having the support of staff and students would make rising to the top of this place much easier. Assuming of course that I didn't let Morgana take the top job and simply assist her on the quests. I had enough titles as it was, and adding Archmage to the list wouldn't mean much to me.

While we had ample clothing Morgana and I were provided with a fresh set of robes, complete with a hood. At this point I explained that Cameron was our servant and wasn't here as a student, so she wouldn't need robes.

Even if my Terminator didn't prefer to be the serving girl who went unnoticed she couldn't actually perform magic so she'd make a terrible student. Cameron decided to stay in the room and to make it habitable for us.

The Master Wizard then took us down to the Hall of Elements, which I remembered was the location for lectures and group study sessions. Most often these sessions were lead by a powerful Mage called Tolfdir.

Soon I noted that the Hall was as impressive as I recalled from playing the game, if not more so. It was a large enough space for practical lessons, also it had the seals of the College decorating the floor and a well in the centre which was projecting a beam of magical energy upwards. I could sense the history and power of this place.

Standing in the middle was a group of four people. Three were dressed in Apprentice robes and the other was an old man, with grey hair and an impressive beard. This was, no doubt, Tolfdir.

"Welcome!" the old Mage said in his friendly voice "We were just beginning. Please, stay and listen".

I nodded and stood next to one of the other students, whom I recognised as a Nord. As a rule the natives of Skyrim didn't much trust magic, unless it was something enchanted as they loved enchanted weapons and armour, but there were always a few exceptions.

"So, as I was saying, the first thing you must understand is that magic is, by it's very nature, volatile and dangerous" the teacher was saying "Unless you can control it, it can and will destroy you".

Anyone in Skyrim could learn a few spells if they were willing to either pay for a spell book or come to learn at place like this, so you'd think that the college would have a lot more students, however this place was next to empty.

Not the college was easy to get too, and there was a test you had to pass in order to attend the college, still there should be more students. I could only assume the locals distrust of magic was the reason why so few people came here to learn.

"Sir, I think we all understand that fairly well," interjected one of the students. "We wouldn't be here if we couldn't control magic".

Still they should listen to the warnings. I knew exactly how dangerous magic could be in the hands of those who rushed spellcasting without considering the potential negative outcomes of their actions.

"Of course my dear, of course," Tolfdir replied "You all possess some inherit magical abilities, that much is not in question. What I'm talking about is true control. It takes years, if not decades, of practice and study to become a Master of Magic".

I agreed with this as even after years spent studying the Magic of the Old Religion that came from Merlin's world I still knew very little about what such supernatural powers could really do.

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's get started!" someone called out.

Those words had come from a Khajiit.

"Please, please, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Eagerness must be met with caution or else disaster is inevitable" our teacher warned.

"But we've only just arrived here!" the Nord argued "You have no idea what any of us are capable of. Why don't you give us a chance to show you what we can do".

That was when Tolfdir turned to Morgana and I

"You two have been quite so far. What do you think we should do?" we were asked.

I could feel the eyes of everyone else on me. What I said next would create a strong impression among my new peers. Our teacher was right to be cautious about magic, for it could be dangerous if used recklessly. But if I said that I'd just sound like a teacher's pet

Also the Nord did have a point. It at least made sense to do something practical to start off with, so we could get a taste of what we were in for and a good teacher could use the lesson to help get his point across.

"It should be safe enough with you here" Morgana told our teacher.

Tolfdir waited for me to say something.

"I'd like to see what everyone can do" I finally said.

It never hurt to check out the competition. I'd like to know what my fellow students could do.

"See, they agree with us too!" said the Dark Elf in the group "Why don't you actually show us something?"

She seemed a little too eager to me, but this was early days so it was best not to judge anyone just yet.

"All right, settle down. I suppose we could try something practical" the teacher said, giving in. "In continuing with our theme of safety, we'll start with wards. Wards are protective spells that block magic. I'll teach you all a ward and we'll see if you can successfully use it to block spells, alright?"

This was exactly what I would have done in his place, knowing that your students were going to experiment, possibly by throwing spells at each other, he wanted them to know how to keep themselves safe. Tolfdir was a smart gentlemen and I was sure I could learn a lot from him.

"Would you mind helping me with a demonstration?" the teacher then asked of me

I nodded to signal my consent.

"Are you at all familiar with warding spells?" I was asked.

Not really. I had shields to protect myself with, but they came from technology rather than magic. I could even use the Force to shield myself to an extent, however I didn't think that would be helpful right now.

"I don't know any ward spells" I admitted.

That wasn't much of an issue as experienced mages knew how to transfer spells into another person's mind directly, and the spell were like living things that nested in your mind. You couldn't really forgot them, and as you expanded your intelligence you could hold more spells and more complex spells inside your mind. Or at least this was my understanding of how the spells of this world worked. I could be wrong.

"Now I'll cast a spell at you and you block it with the ward. Here we go.."

Our teacher told the others to go and stand away him, so they wouldn't get in the way. Then Tolfdir took his position facing me.

"Now, cast the ward spell and keep it up" the teacher commanded.

I lifted my hand and a shimmering wall appeared before me, it was an effort to sustain a shield like this but I had the raw power required to keep it up so it just became a matter of concentration.

"Hold still..." I was told.

Tolfdir prepared a firebolt and sent it at me. The bolt hit the ward and I was in no way harmed. The apprentices were very impressed by our little show despite the fact that this was pretty basic spellcasting.

"Excellent work!" Tolfdir praised.

He then turned to the rest of the group.

"Well, I think this is an excellent start" he said "I'd like you all to continue practising ward spells, please. We'll reconvene here tomorrow. That's for today, thank you".

The students started to disperse. I decided to go look around so that I could see what resources the college had given me to work with but I was blocked by the Khajiit. Now I could see his face close up I had to admit that his moustache kinda worked despite him being a cat person.

"What do they call you, Imperial?" he asked.

I wasn't actually an Imperial since I was from Earth not Nirn, but I was of Western European stock so in Skyrim I passed for an Imperial.

"Gothic" I informed my new peer.

Which was an odd name for a human, but the cat man paid it no attention.

"And you?" I asked.

Rather than answer my question the cat guy inquired about something else.

"You are new, yes?" I was asked "Have you mastered the Expert level destruction spells yet?"

This wasn't mere curiosity. The cat guy was sizing up the new competition just as I would only he was far less subtle about it.

"Not yet, but I will," I answered.

In truth the school of destruction magic didn't interest me that much as I access to energy weapons and my telekinetic abilities were more than strong enough to kill my enemies.

"Ah, this is good, J'zargo will know them first" the cat person replied "But it is good to be around skilled Mages who may be able to keep up with J'zargo".

Either this guy had a huge ego or all his people referred to themselves in the third person. It could be both in this cat's case. I wouldn't rule it out.

"Not everything is about competition, you know" I said.

Well really it was. Students would compete against each other even if the college was the kind of place meant to let someone learn at their own pace, but as long as things didn't get out of hand I didn't see any harm in a little friendly rivalry.

"Oh, but you are wrong" stated J'zargo

I decided to humour the cat guy.

"Well then, may the best man win" I said with a smile.

That should have been humanoid rather than man.

"Yes, J'zargo will win" the cat guy replied.

With that he swaggered off and I once more tried to leave, knowing that Morgana would be fine doing her own thing, only to find the Dark Elf blocking the door.

"Excuse me..." I started to say.

I wasn't able to finish speaking.

"Before you even ask, yes I have an ancestry steeped in magic and no, I don't want to talk about it. Yes, I know Winterhold used to be full of my kind and no, I don't care that they're all gone now. Does that cover everything?" said the Dark Elf.

Well it was certainly one hell of an introduction.

"Actually I was just leaving the room" I told the Dark Elf

The woman looked a little ashamed of herself.

"Nice to meet you..." she said, starting over.

We shook hands.

"I'm Gothic" I supplied.

Hopefully she'd think it nothing more than an odd Imperial name.

"Brelyna Maryon" She told me before apologising "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude, I just..."

I waved my hand in dismissal. I was used to people giving me attention I didn't desire. It could get very annoying.

"Think nothing of it. I can imagine you must get asked a lot about being from one of the Six Houses" I said.

Having played Morrowind I knew what the woman been going on about even if she hadn't given me many details.

"Yes, it does. Thank you for understanding," she said, with a small smile.

She didn't seem to want to move so I decided to keep talking.

"So what are you studying here?" I enquired.

It seemed like a harmless enough question.

"Conjuration, but I know a little bit of destruction too so I wouldn't mind learning more about it" she answer before asking a question of her own "What are you here to study?".

Given that this was a school for magic that might seem like a dumb question, so I just answered as best I could before getting into some meaningless small talk. There was no rush to look around the college. I would be here for a while.

(Line Break)

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim**

As a rule the College wasn't in the habit of keeping track of it's students whereabouts, they didn't even keep a close eye on what projects we got up to. You could get away with Necromancy and Deadra Summoning as long you did it down in the Midden.

While I wasn't summoning anything or messing about with the undead I did have a lot to learn so it was a good thing that I was able to spend a few hours in a trance, letting the Force sustain without sleep.

I still needed to eat so I made a mental note to get a good lunch at the local inn after the lecture today. Food from Skyrim was plain but very filling and while the college provided meals I liked going out to eat.

When I got to the dining hall one of the students came over to me as I entered the room, giving me a friendly smile and offered a hand to shake.

"New here too, eh?" he enquired, as we shook. "The name's Onmund".

He was a Nord not that big for one of his race, but still taller and bulkier than most Imperials I'd met, and in terms of appearance I was an Imperial.

"I'm Gothic" I replied "It's good to meet you."

Unlike many Nords, who had a valid reason to hate Imperials due to still ongoing war, Onmund didn't look down on me for being a slightly different kind of human being. I could sense no hate or anger coming from him through the Force.

"I'd hoped I wouldn't be the only Nord student" Onmund commented, sounding sad about it "Should've known better".

The lack of Nords here didn't surprise me, but it was a topic of conversation so I went with it.

"You're right it is no surprise" Onmund said once I had prompted him to talk further on the subject "Nords generally don't trust magic, never have. Throw in the Oblivion Crisis, which was caused by magic users and the troubles with the Aldmeri Dominion, who are elves and magic users. And finally take the fact that the College is the only thing left standing after most of Winterhold was destroyed. It's all fairly damning".

Sometimes there were good reasons to be prejudice against a group, it was unfair but it could also be sensible.

"Well when you put it like that, I suppose they do have some justification" I admitted "I just hope they don't make life difficult for me".

It would simple for me to leave and never come back but I wanted to make use of this place's resources before moving on. After all there was no point in doing a Jump Chain if you didn't exploit the opportunities it presented.

"Is it easier to be a magic user where you're from?" the Nord asked.

The answer to that question was complicated as I was from many places really.

"You can learn to get by" I told the native of Skyrim.

Since I didn't want to answer any more questions about where I came from I decided to change the subject.

"Come on, we'd better get to the Hall for the lecture" I said.

With that, we headed outside and even though we barely spent half a minute walking through the snow-filled courtyard to the Hall of Elements, it was nonetheless gratifying to enter the warm lecture hall.

When we got inside we saw that it was Colette Marence, a Breton Mage, who was teaching today's lesson, or at least the start of it. I also noticed that Morgana wasn't here, she must have found something to mess around with.

"I would just like to remind everyone, once again, that Restoration is indeed a valid school of magic" the woman told us "It is absolutely worthy of research, despite many of the notes I've had left in my bed, on my desk and on occasion, my meals. Anyone suggesting that Restoration is better left to the priests of the Temples, I think, is forgetting a few things".

Like how handy it is to able to heal yourself. They didn't have antibiotics or antiseptics, or even plasters here so being able to quickly close an open wound could save a person from possible infection.

"Firstly, the ability to repel the undead cannot be ignored. Skyrim is well known to be full of Draugr, ancient Nord warriors who cannot find peace" Colette Marence was now saying "I submit to you that everyone teaching at this College has, at one time or another, relied on one of the Restoration spells that can keep them at bay".

I never had needed to use that branch of magic to deal with the undead, but I had the ability to vaporise my foes

"Secondly, how can anyone forget wards? They are essential to any mage working in dangerous situations" Colette Marence went on to say "They are counted upon every bit as much as Candlelight, or Invisibility. But more importantly, wards have saved lives. This is a simple fact".

No one argued that point.

"Every Mage in this College regularly uses wards for practice, so as to avoid physical harm. I truly hope that these points actually sink in, and that more care and thought is given to this subject in the future. Thank you" she finished by saying "If anyone wishes to learn more about Restoration spells then seek me out".

As soon as she'd finished with the lesson J'zargo started practising the lightning bolt spell on one of the mage-lights. It was clear to me that the cat man was very devoted to his mission to become a powerful user of Destruction magic.

"Well casted," complimented Onmund.

As a group we came over to where cat guy was working.

"Of course it was. J'zargo casted it, so it was bound to be" the cat man said.

The guy had a big ego.

"You seem very sure of yourself," Onmund noted.

He'd phrased that diplomatically so as not to offend. Which was always a wise thing to do when talking to someone who could blast you with deadly magic.

"There is much for J'zargo to be sure of" said the cat man with a big grin. "There is skill in magic, there is charm. J'zargo will be successful, of this there is no doubt."

He so needed to be taken down a notch.

"Well, I'm pretty good too" I said.

For a time, we tried out casting a few different spells. Mainly Apprentice level destruction magic as I knew none better. Both J'zargo and Onmund proved themselves to as skilled in that type of magic as myself.

"You know we'll never master the destruction arts firing at bits of light" I pointed out "If we really wanted to test our skills we should take on some bandits or those Draugr I hear so much about".

Practical work with me there to keep them safe could do my fellow students some good. Of course I had a lot of experience with foes both living and not living, but there was no need to mention that.

"I heard that the Librarian is looking for someone to collect some rare books" my new Nord friend said "That could be a good test of our skills".

And it could be rewarding. I was always on the look out for new books as I wanted to build a proper library within the Cosmic Warehouse.

Before anyone could commit further I heard the door open and close and felt cold for a few moments due to the wind. I turned, expecting to see Tolfdir but it was in fact Brelyna Maryon, the somewhat attractive Dark Elf. She saw me, smiled and then came stood to stand beside me.

"You're not joining in?" she asked me as the cat guy started showing off once again "I'm sure you could teach him a thing or two".

Since I'd shown off earlier and felt no need to again.

"I'm happy to watch for now" I answered "I'm still new here I don't want to push myself too hard too soon".

The Dark Elf was wearing a hood so I couldn't see her expression, but I got the impression that she was bored so I decided to engage her in a little conversation.

"You mentioned yesterday that Winterhold used to be full of Dunmer?" I asked casually.

That was enough to get her going.

"Didn't you know? Before the Oblivion Crisis, many of our kind called Winterhold their home. Many of my kind visited the College from Morrowind every year" she explained.

I'd actually implied that I'd knew about the college and its relationship with the dark elves when we'd met, but she seemed to have forgotten about that.

"Is that so" I said "I'm from the Imperial City so I don't know much about the rest of the world".

That was a big city were everyone didn't know everyone else so even if she one day went there and asked about me it wouldn't be odd that no one remembered ever meeting me.

"Growing distrust of magic made life difficult for most" I was told "Some left rather than endure the growing hatred from the local Nords. Others returned home after the Red Year, when Vardenfell erupted and caused so much destruction. Winterhold itself died in the years between then and now. Only the College really remains" she then told me.

The rest of the Winterhold could barely be considered a village.

"What a shame" I said.

Judging by her body language she seemed a little preoccupied. She was fidgeting, fiddling with her fingers and looking this way and that.

"You okay?" I asked, adding concern to my voice.

Something was really bothering her.

"I hope I practised enough with the ward spell" the woman was now saying "I hope I do alright. I think I will. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll fail. Maybe I'll have to leave if I fail. I don't want to leave. Do you think I'll do fine? Do you?".

This was a bad case of nerves. She was looking for a way to distract herself.

"Don't worry to much Brelyna" I advised.

I never got the chance to offer any advice as Morgana entered the room followed by someone else

"Ah, good, you're all here. I'm glad to see you've all been doing something productive while you were waiting for me" said our next teacher.

Clearly Colette Marence was not much of lecturer as she'd given up and gone already. Tolfdir however looked ready and able to impart knowledge.

"It seems that you all have particular talents in magic. It shall be gratifying to see you harness them and, I hope, become exceptional mages" Tolfider told us.

"Some, more so than others," J'zargo muttered to himself.

Cat man was ignored.

"Now then, let's see how well you've been practising with ward spells" our teacher said "Gothic, since you assisted me yesterday, perhaps you would repeat the favour".

I had to wonder why he was selecting me for these demonstrations. Perhaps he could sense that I was far more powerful than I appeared. Although the same was true for Morgana.

"As you wish," I told the Wizard.

I moved to go stand in the same place I had on the previous day. Far faster than he did yesterday Tolfdir summoned a ball of fire and sent it at me only a second after I had set the shimmering wall that was the ward. It was a good thing I didn't then end the spell as he then sent another.

Of course I blocked it, but felt my energy levels drop as performing magic in this way was draining. I could barely block the third one, but that seemed to be enough for the Wizard. He knew as well as I did that I was new this kind of magic.

"Excellent work, Gothic" he said, as I walked back to the group "You managed to sustain your ward for longer than I expected. But I don't want to tax you too much so we will let someone have a turn".

I knew that every time I did the spell it would become easier so his method of teaching was a wise one. No doubt tomorrow he would send four fire balls my way and I would block them all.

"Yes, sir" I simply replied.

I then stood back then to watch the others in action. Onmund was next up to go. He held his ward for a good few seconds, but it failed when Tolfdir sent his second firebolt at the tall student. The poor Nord had to dive out of the way. He was quick for such a large fellow.

Tolfdir put it down to not enough practice, but phrased in such a way that blow was soften and Onmund was encouraged to try harder next time.

"It gets easier to hold the ward the more you practice" I told my new friend "and Nords are hard to hurt with frost spells so if I learned a minor frost spell you could practice your ward while I train in destruction".

Onmund politely accepted my kind offer and we watched as J'zargo proved to be a pro at wards, he blocked a total of seven attacks until he ran out of energy, and when he did the cat man nearly collapsed but somehow managed to stay standing. He'd over extended himself in an attempt to prove his skills and this was pointed out.

Morgana managed to keep her barrier up for the longest, which surprised everyone other than myself as I knew that she was one of the strongest users of magic her world had ever produced. Only a few spellcasters of her reality could hope to match her and one of those was Merlin himself.

Finally, Brelyna went to have her go. Tolfdir sent a firebolt at her. She panicked and ended up summoning a Flame Atronach. Which was very impressive as that wasn't an easy spell. J'zargo decided to show off again and he sent lightening blasts at the fiery creature rather than let the conjuration end. Which was foolish because as long as no one attacked the creature would have done nothing.

"Brelyna! Get away from it! It's going to explode!" someone shouted out.

The yelling voice seemed to break her out of her trance, as she leapt to the side before the body of the daedra exploded in a fiery inferno, leaving a pile of ash and fire salts behind it. Thankfully we'd all practised our wards and were able to shield ourselves.

"Oh my... I'm so sorry, I... I mean I... I was..." the Dark Elf said between sobs.

In the state she was in I worried that the Dark Elf might do something foolish like runway and die in the cold.

"Hold on, I'll go and see if she's okay" I said to everyone.

I was use to being a leader and used to being listen to so no one tried to stop me from leaving. Luckily I found Brelyna in the Hall of Attainment, where the dorms were, she hadn't rushed off into the wilderness, which would have been very dangerous.

Moving quickly I barged through the doors, eager to get out of the cold as well as to find the elf, and then slowed down, looking in the direction of her room and listening quietly. I could hear her quietly sobbing and she was the only person in here, so she wasn't hard to find.

She turned her head slightly as I approached.

"Oh, it's you.." she said while drying her eyes "What do you want?".

This scene seemed oddly familiar for some reason yet I couldn't recall comforting someone for problems they were having in school.

"Just to make sure you are okay" I said gently, taking a seat close by. "What happened in there?".

Well I knew what had happened, it was just that she needed to talk about it.

"Why do you care?" she spat, bitterly. "Why should you? At least you know the difference between a ward and conjuration spell! I'm an idiot!".

I figured that this situation would need delicate handling.

"You're not an idiot," I responded, keeping my voice level. "It was just a mistake, that's all".

For a guy with a harem I had very little experience in dealing with upset females, which was actually rather strange once I thought about it. My girls must be spending their time comforting each other.

"Are you kidding?" she said. "I should have been able to cast that ward and I used the completely wrong spell! A child could have done better than me! I'm wasting everyone's time at this College. They won't want an idiot like me".

She was overreacting.

"I'm sure they understand that mistakes happen that's why we were all lectured on safety yesterday".

Often in situations like this it can take a while to get through to the upset person even when your rather good at charming people, which I'd had some practice at doing.

"I'm no Mage, I'm nothing but a failure" the Dark Elf moaned "That's what they will say".

Somehow I didn't think she was talking about the students of the college.

"Do you mean the Telvanni mages?" I wondered.

This time I got it right.

"They were always judging me" she said to herself mostly "I never met up to their expectations".

I had some advice ready.

"You can't spend your entire life trying to measure up to other people's exceptions" I said "Everyone has to find their own way in this world, and the only way you can be sure to fail is not to try".

I only needed a little more effort in order to cheer her up.

"You're really good at conjuration" I told the Dark Elf "I can summon flaming familiars sure but a full on deadra that's something else. I'm sure you're going to be a great conjurer one day".

That put a smile on her face.

"Thank you, Gothic" she said to me" I really needed that talk, I wasn't thinking straight. I'm glad to have such a good friend, like you".

I'd slipped into the friend zone, that was disappointing but not the end of the world. I was hardly lacking for women willing to spread their legs.

"I've never had a friend like you before" she said.

In my mind I could picture her having a lonely childhood. A bit like me in some ways.

"Come on let's get back to the hall" I said while offering her a hand.

We made our way back through the biting cold and high winds to find Tolfdir, Onmund and J'zargo all waiting for us.

"Ah, Brelyna, you had us worried there for a moment," the old man said in a concerned voice, "are you alright?".

She nodded.

"Yes sir, I'm sorry for my mistake and for my overreaction to it" she apologised "I'll learn from it. I promise".

I smiled upon hearing that.

"Well, that's precisely what this College is for, my dear," he said kindly "We only want you to apply yourself as best you can to what we teach you".

Sound words in my view.

"Would you like to try again?" our teacher asked.

"Yes, I would" she answered, confidently.

The Dark Elf moved to the seal, far more calm and confident than before. She raised her shimmering shield in front of her, blocking a total of five firebolts, before she couldn't keep the ward up but unlike the cat guy she didn't over extend herself while doing it. Clearly she was talented.

"Very well done, Brelyna," the lecturer praised, "I think you will be an excellent student here. Just try to keep calm and you'll do fine".

She smiled upon hearing that.

"Now then," the wizard said to everyone "I think it best if we end the lesson for today so you can all do some research. I want you to return tomorrow with the answer to this question: How do you defeat the ward spell?"

Oh joy, homework.

"I did it!" Brelyna said with a radiant smile as we headed out of the hall "I couldn't have done it without you, Gothic. Thank you".

There was no need to thank me I hadn't done much.

"I only gave you a little moral support," I replied, "It was your own skills that got you through that lesson".

She was strong in the magic that was sure.

"Don't be so modest," she corrected, "My head wasn't clear and I needed someone to talk to. I'm glad it was you".

"What are friends for" I said.

If nothing else she'd be very loyal to me from now on. Which could be handy as I tried to climb up the ranks.

"I'll be in my dorm, if you want to find me later" Brelyna told me as walked away.

Since I wanted to study I made my way to the Arcanium, which was the library of the College. I needed to write an essay before tomorrow morning. Plus I got the feeling that Morgana had something to talk to me about. I could sense her smugness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold**

**Part 3**

**Winterhold. Skyrim.**

"Good, you're awake. How did you sleep?" I was asked

Morgana had spoken to me with her rich and confident voice that always had a hint of smugness in it.

"I hope you've rested, you're going to need your energy later" she told me "In fact you're going to need it now".

As I watched her walk across the room I grew hard, even in her nightgown she was super sexy.

"I need to extract and purify some of your seed. It is the main ingredients for a potion I'm working on" she told me.

Since I hadn't woken up yet I didn't fully understand this.

"You.. What?!" I asked.

What kind of potion needed that to make it work?

"Trust me, you're going to enjoy this" she said with a slightly sinister tone before straddling my lap.

My cock rapidly became as hard as diamonds, but with nowhere to go, was forced to press against Morgana's body through my boxers. To make this matter even worse Morgana began to gently grind her hips against my crotch

Then Morgana slid back across my crotch, eliciting a small groan from me as her ass slid across my cock. The tent I was pitching was now directly in front of Morgana.

Her hands found my dick, freed it, and then began to rub it. she wasn't wearing any underwear and I could feel the heat coming from her pussy.

"You need something to look at" my wife was now saying.

She reached her arms around herself and undid her gown so that her breasts were exposed to the cool morning air. Then she sat upright and started to lower her pussy towards my cock.

Morgana placed her hands on my chest and began to slowly lower herself onto my cock, which at this point was so hard it could penetrate a bunker. Despite the indescribable tightness, her pussy didn't seem to offer much resistance to the entrance of manhood.

As more of my cock was engulfed in her scorching, gripping, squeezing cavern, the witch couldn't help moaning. She was trying to remain in control and to focus on pleasing, or more likely, teasing me so that I'd come inside her, but she couldn't help enjoying herself.

Morgana began to rock her hips ever so slowly, to the point where it could hardly be seen. But to me, even the slightest movement of her pussy was enjoyable.

"Are you ready?" she said with a gentle, affectionate tone.

I had the feeling that she was about to start really riding me and I didn't mind that one bit. Of course she didn't care about gathering or purifying anything, that had just been some game of hers, and it hadn't been then she was going to have a hard time harvesting of my seed as I would soon shoot the entire load deep inside her.

(Line Break)

**Winterhold. Skyrim.**

As expected we had just spent another lesson on wards only this time we'd covered breaking through wards as well as using them to defend ourselves. Which was good to know in case we ever got into a conflict with another mage. For example Necromancers were always looking for more bodies, and often found themselves butting heads with mages who didn't approve of messing with the dead.

Thanks to her research, Morgana had discovered that Lightning spells were the best for directly defeating, as for me I'd gone with the idea of summoning a small deadra, then ordering to attack while I attacked from a different angle.

The shield created by a ward didn't cover all directions so while technically I hadn't actually answered the question there was sound reasoning behind my short essay and the practical demonstration had supported my idea.

The others had made good efforts too so Tolfdir had given us some time off to research and refine our tactics. However, he also said that we should take some time off to enjoy ourselves.

So, Onmund suggested that we all go to the Frozen Hearth Inn in what was left of Winterhold for a drink of refreshing mead and to relax a little. Which had been a very Nord thing to suggest, not that I said that.

I was having a good time with my four classmates, even J'zargo. There were no hard feelings between any of us, except for a little competitiveness, but even that was friendly.

"Well, at least I cast the right spell this time" Brelyna joked.

I'd not failed to notice that Morgana and Brelyna had spent most of our free time today chatting with each other. Some paranoid part of my mind made me wonder if they were talking about me, but I did my best not to worry about such things.

Really I shouldn't even care. I was Jumper Gothic, I'd played major roles in the fates of entire galaxies, worrying about two girls gossiping was beneath me.

"Hey, at least you all did the proper research," Onmund also joked "I felt like a fool that I couldn't answer when Tolfdir asked me. Thank Talos you all knew what I was trying to say".

Onmund had the clever idea of using a very weak spell in shorts burst to force the person using the ward to keep theirs up, which took more effort and wore the mage casting the ward to overextend himself. However since the attacker would be using a weak spell they would still have some magical energy left over when the ward fell for a powerful attack.

I'd somewhat expected him to come with the idea of simply bashing in the skull of whomever was casting the ward with a nice big axe, which would have been a valid tactic if a little crude.

"Next time just write all down like I did" I advised.

It amazed me how such a powerfully built man could become so nervous when addressing a teacher.

"Oh don't worry, I will," the Nord assured me while taking a swig of mead.

The big guy was on his second tanker of mead but he was use to the stuff, so I knew he wouldn't get drunk.

"You should be more like J'zargo, Onmund," Cat guy said, "J'zargo is always looking for things that will make him a more powerful mage. Hopefully, small things that will fit inside pockets and will not be noticed if they are missing".

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes when I heard that, and then I reminded myself not to leave small and expensive things in the dorm.

"Thanks, but I'd prefer not to get kicked out of the College for stealing" Onmund replied.

Most Nords would have made some kind of racist slur upon hearing something like that, or maybe even threatened to make a nice throw rug from J'zargo's fur, but my oversized friend was not typical of the locals.

"Your loss, my friend, your loss. More for J'zargo," cat guy said with an almost predatory grin.

To hide my amusement I took a swig of mead. It tasted very sweet, which made sense as one of it's one of the main ingredients was honey. I could see why the Nords enjoyed drinking it so much. It certainly tasted better the so called ale they served in these parts.

"Did any of you hear about the Dragonborn?" Brelyna said to the group "They say he captured a dragon in Whiterun".

I had actually heard the rumours, and while I knew that Alduin was still a threat it sounded as if the hero would soon slay the beast or die trying, which would led to the end of the world. I knew that for a fact.

Of course if Morgana and I didn't deal with the Eye of Magnus once it was dug up then the world would end anyway, but it was still buried underground right now as the excavation was an ongoing process, so no sense worrying, and we had a Staff of Magnus ready to go if things got out of hand.

Plus I could end this Jump when ever I wished as I'd already defeated Harkon. However if I did that then I'd lose Serana as a potential companion and she had expressed an interest in seeing more of the multi-verse, but she was off doing other stuff at the moment.

"Gothic do you remember when we talked about using our spells against real foes?" my Nord friend asked.

I did recall saying something along those lines

"Sure do" I said

The big guy had more to say.

"When I went to the bar the innkeeper showed me this" I was told.

He then passed me a piece of paper. The local Jarl had put a bounty on some bandits nothing odd there.

"You want to take on some bandits!" remarked Brelyna.

If it was a small group then we could do it. Heck I could do myself but if I remained limited to Skyrim spells I would need help as I wasn't that good with Destruction yet.

"Have you ever killed a bandit?" Onmund asked of everyone.

Everyone but me said no.

"I've taken down a few of them in my travels" I causally mentioned.

And a few monsters, a few vampires, and a lot of hostile aliens.

"Then perhaps Gothic and I should handle this alone" the Nord suggested.

I disapproved of this idea as it made much more sense to take on the bandits as a group so that everyone could gain practical experience while I was there to keep things from getting out of control.

While I'd rather not expose my powers if I could help it I would if needs be, and there were ways to use them without people knowing that I those abilities.

"You are not going without J'zargo" insisted the cat guy.

He wasn't the only one to express an opinon.

"Hey, don't think you're leaving me out of this" piped up the Dark Elf.

I looked over to Brelyna as she placed down her tankard and looked back at me. There was no mistaking the glint in her eyes.

"Someone will need to keep the rest of you out of trouble" Morgana said.

She'd dealt with worse than bandits, and I'd seen her do it, still I felt an urge to keep her out of danger despite the fact that she would respawn if she got killed. Despite how 'evolved' I'd become there was still a part of me that strongly wanted to protect Morgana from any danger.

"We're not going to talk them out of it" I said to Onmund "And we might need the numbers".

Mage or not, he was a Nord and all Nords respected courage even when it came from Elves.

"A hundred gold coins split four ways" I then said, having checked the note "That's twenty-gold coins each".

Didn't sound like much but for most people twenty gold coins could last a while. Food wasn't that expensive, even with the war.

"Very well then, let's get going" I soon said "We should do this while we have some daylight and we're sober".

(Line Break)

**Bandit Camp. Skyrim.**

"Well that went well" I said.

Indeed it had as unlike in the game the bad guys don't throw themselves into fights they can't possibly win so when we'd attacked with daedra and destruction magic many of the bandits had fled, or at least they had tried to.

Most of them hadn't made it as we'd had surprise on our side and somewhat demonic creatures as our allies.

While the rest of us were unbothered by the sight of so many dead bandits, Brelyna was a little upset, and was currently emptying her stomach of whatever had been in there. I wasn't upset at all by the carnage around me as I'd taken part in much bigger battles.

"Do we need to bring any proof to the Jarl?" I asked of Onmund.

You didn't in the game, but this wasn't a game, the local noble might want the heads of these bandits to put on spikes somewhere as a warning to other crooks.

"No he'll take our word for it" Onmund assured me "He can always send someone to check if he doubts and then send the guards to arrest us if we lied".

If the Jarl had guards capable of arresting me then he wouldn't have needed to put a bounty on these bandits.

"J'zargo thinks that we should look for loot" said the cat guy.

I doubted that these guys had much, or if they did they really should have invested their money in better weapons and armour.

"We can look around" said Morgana.

With that we separated and began looking for whatever valuables we could find.

(Line Break)

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim**

"Now expanding from what we covered yesterday can anyone remind me what spell is best for defeating a ward?" asked Tolfdir.

It wasn't like any of us could have forgotten but that didn't really matter.

"After looking through some books, I found that lightning is the easiest way to break through a ward spell" Brelyna said.

Already the Dark Elf had become a lot more confident. Which was pleasing to me as I'd had hand in that.

"Yes, lightning is the best way to break through a ward spell" the wizard stated "I think a small demonstration is in order".

Naturally he turned to me.

"Gothic if you wouldn't mind" Tolfdir requested.

Clearly our teacher understood that I was well suited to these demonstrations because of my level of control, which surpassed that of the other students as I was used to controlling powers than most people couldn't handle.

"Not at all, sir." I said.

I went and stood on the seal.

"Wonderful. Now, if you could take this amulet, we can begin." Tolfdir said while pulling a small amulet out of his top pocket.

After taking off my adder stone I took the amulet and put it on.

"Good. I would like you to cast your ward and hold it while I send some lightning at you" the teacher instructed "I just want you to hold the ward until it collapses, alright?"

I just nodded.

"Don't worry," Tolfdir assured me, "That amulet has been enchanted to resist lightning. It will protect you long enough for our demonstration".

The now very familiar shimmer of a ward spell appeared before me.

"Now, hold your ward steady, and I'll try to break through it." Tolfdir said, as his hands began to glow with electricity.

Soon Tolfdir was sending streams of sparks at my ward. The shield held for a couple of seconds, but then collapsed completely as the teacher's lightning was very powerful. The sparks briefly covered me and stung me a little before Tolfdir put his hands down, and as the spell faded, it really tickled.

"Excellent work, my boy. Are you alright?" he asked,

I was actually okay, because of course wearing Kull warrior material under my robes which absorbed energy without I would have been a little shocked.

"Fine thanks" I said before returning the amulet.

Tolfdir smiled at me. He was pleased that the demonstration had gone so well.

"Now who else would like to try and sustain their ward while under attack by a lightening spell?" the wizard asked.

Of course everyone volunteered.

(Line Break)

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim**

"Before you started summoning any Dremora Lords you ought to start by learning to control unbound atronachs" Savos Aren the Arch Mage of the college said to me as we began the private lesson "Flame Astronarchs can be very useful when correctly controlled".

While I'd seen Flame Astronarchs summoned, until now I'd only once conjured one myself, back when Serana, Cameron, Forestwind and I had faced the the Arch-Curate, the other few times I'd done a summoning I'd brought forth familiars as they were easier to handle. I wasn't even sure if they were Daedra of sorts or something else.

However that Flame Astronarch hadn't been around for long and that had been a bound Daedra which while easier to control were more limited in what they could do and didn't hang around for long.

"These elemental beings are easy to control, but you must still be careful as they only care for destruction" Phinis Gestor the conjuration expert at this College explained.

I'd seen that first hand with those bandits. My Dark Elf friend had summoned a Flame Astronarch that had set a lot on bandits on fire.

"You know I've heard the Champion was a master summoner" Archmage Savos Aren then said to both of us.

While I didn't know for sure I assumed that he was talking about The Hero of Kvatch, who'd been named Champion, and may have gone to become the Mad God.

The three of us were inside the Midden, a series of underground chambers and tunnels beneath the College that also served as a back door out of the College should the locals decide to kill us all with pitchforks and torches.

There was an atsronach forge down here, where Phinis Gestor would experiment upon the summoned beings. I was using it as a place to safely conjure these creatures while under the supervision of two experienced spell casters, which made summoning the daedra as safe as it ever could be.

"I remember stories of his fights during Oblivion Crisis" said the Arch Mage "there are several records of him fighting against many enemies with a Dremora Lord by his side".

No doubt there were warriors out there who would say that the champion was a Nord who fought with a massive warhammer, and that he swept all foes aside with ease due to how strong he was.

"Indeed, he could summon every kind of Daedra" Gestor then stated.

From what I knew summoning the stronger kind of Daedra was not like dealing with a Scamp. Dremora Lords were just as wilful and intelligent as any person, more so in fact so unless they were bound you had to break them before you could summon them to aid you in combat.

"Clearly a talented mage" Archmage Aren commented, before casting a spell for a demonstration.

Fire formed in the forge and it materialised into a Flame Atronach, which seemed like a person made from fire more than anything else. The creature was unbound as such it was free to attack anyone it wished, however it was contained within the summoning circle.

"This is a Flame Astronach, a simple summoning" the Arch Mage told me. "Fire Elementals as you probably already know are good against many enemies. Especially beasts as they fear fire. Trolls are very susceptible to flames so if you ever face one knowing how to summon a fire elemental could save your life".

I of course had other options should I need to kill a troll. Firebolts were good or I just used my lightsaber which was good for killing many things, and much safer for me to use than summoning up a demon like creature.

"An unbound Daedra will not simply fade away" I was told "You must either banish them or kill them in order to send them back to Oblivion".

The Arch Mage didn't bother to try to control the unbound daedra, instead he simply banished the creature.

"Now you summon a Flame Astronach" I was instructed.

"Okay, I'll try" I said.

"You better try your best" the Archmage urged.

Casting the spell I brought fourth a Flame Astronach, which was unbound and therefore it could act freely, if not for the fact that it was trapped within the summoning circle it would have attacked us.

With some effort I was able to banish the creature back to whatever realm of Oblivion it had come from. An act which got me some praise as banishing an unbound daedra wasn't simply a matter of waiting for the summoning spell to run out.

"I find it curious you personally wanted to tutor an apprentice" the Conjuration master asked the superior mage "Is he a good candidate?"

Somehow I'd resisted the urge to ask about that because I had a feeling that the Archmage was looking for his replacement. Even for a Dark Elf he was old and might want to retire some time soon.

I suspected that he had some interest in me because I'd actually sought out Phinis Gestor for help with my summonings not the Arch Mage

"Not yet, but I see potential" the elderly spell caster said before turning to address me "Now don't let this go to your head. Concentrate on summoning the astronach. The more you practice this spell the easier it will come to you, and the more easily you will learn to control even an unbound deadra".

I listened carefully to the instructions.

"Feel the connection between this realm and Oblivion" I heard the Arch Mage say " Sense the daedra heeding your call".

A flaming creature formed in the forge moments later.

"Good! You're a fast learner" the Arch Mage praised.

Phinis Gestor clapped his hands before becoming serious.

"As you already know there are spells that allow people to banish daedra and even to subvert your control" he warned me "Experts in this branch of magic can even use conjured weapons to banish summoned creatures. So watch out for that".

Only the most powerful Mages knew those spells and those spells only existed in this world so I didn't need to worry too much about that.

"This is far interesting than writing essay for Collete, no?" the Conjuration master then said

I actually had great respect for healing magic as it was not easy to learn, and it took a strong kind of person to devote themselves to learning what would help others.

"You can use this room for summoning practice, as long as I'm around" Phinis Gestor said to me. "You apprentices need proper supervision before we can be sure enough to let you conjure on your own".

It would interesting to see how Daedra summoning worked in other worlds, but I would be carefully about that as the last thing I wanted was a sort of demon running amok just because I couldn't control it.

"Right then" the Arch Mage said "Before you conjure up anything else I think it's time for dinner".

My stomach agreed.

(Line Break)

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim**

Nearly the whole college, but not that Thalmor git, had gathered in a room that contained a long wooden table and some chairs. For dinner we had cheese, salted horker meat and few slices of roast beef, and even green apples which weren't easy to get this far north I imagined.

Compared to what I was used to this meal was simple but I was enjoying it anyway because this college was a nice change of pace for me. Here I didn't need to think so much about expanding my influence, gaining allies and stuff like that.

"How goes your research?" Faralda asked of one of her fellow staff members as she drank some wine.

Faralda was the Altmer mage who specialised in Destruction Magic, she was also charged with not letting the riff raff into the College. It was she who had administered the test to Morgana and I upon trying to enter the college.

"I had some break through on my research" one of the other teachers said "The Dragonborn kindly gave us some more samples of dragon's scales and bones".

This was a surprise to me as I'd not heard much about the famed dragon slayer and what he got up to. Perhaps while in this world I could acquire some dragon scales and bones, however that seemed unlikely.

"What about your work. How does that progress?" Faralda asked.

"Nothing to be said, there's no progress when Nirya keep bugging me with her Honningbrew mead and Collete keeps making speeches on Restoration magic" was the reply.

Given that Collete was here that was a bit of a mean to say that.

"And you junior mages?" asked the Arch-Mage "What have you done during your self-study session. Aside from enduring Collete's speeches".

Well he knew what I'd been doing.

"J'zargo practised his fire magic, it did not go too well" my fellow apprentice confessed. "J'zargo burnt J'zargo's fur in the process".

The cat guy then lifted his tail, showing charred fur on the point of his tail. It looked painful, but since I didn't have a tail I could only imagine how bad it must be.

"Now you understand why I urge caution" Tolfdir said.

Thankfully for the cat guy no one decided to lecture him further on the subject.

"And you Onmund?" the Arch Mage asked next "How are your studies progressing".

We all turned to look at the Nord.

"I still don't understand why I must do low level spells first" Onmund moaned.

Given that I'd once killed a man with apprentice level lightening spell I knew exactly how dangerous such 'low level' spells could be if you learned to focus your will. So if even those spell could be so lethal then a Mage could easily kill themselves or an ally in battle if he misused an expert level lightening spell.

"Don't ever hope to master Chain Lightning when you can't even do your Spark spell properly" Faralda said "It takes full concentration of the mind to control the sheer force of lightning. Learn from J'zargo's error".

Nords weren't well known for being cautious. There were exceptions of course and my big friend could be one of them. He certainly been wise enough not to take on those bandits alone.

The Arch-Mage continued by asking Brelyna of her research.

"Well I found some good materials thanks to Urag" she told the group "but I'm mostly helping him to arrange the library".

The library was always lending out books and new ones came in from time to time. The Orc, who had already left the table to get back to work had a hell of a job on his hands even though he had a small collection compared to the collections I'd seen.

"You might be our next librarian soon. Poor old Urag barely manages to take care of his collections" Toljfir commented.

He then turned to Morgana.

"I've been researching alchemy and enchantment" she told the group.

She didn't elaborate on that, and I didn't need her to as I knew exactly what kind of potions she was brewing up. She was studying Crimson Nirnroot, comparing to it the regular kind in order to find out what sort of potions she could make. She planned on publishing her findings before we left this world.

"I heard you were practising summoning with our Archmage" Toljfir then said to me.

J'zargo's ears raised and I knew he was jealous. He was the most competitive mage amongst the students. Mentioning private tutoring with the greatest mage in Skyrim only fuelled his jealously, hopefully he wouldn't dwell on such things.

"Is that true, friend? " J'zargo asked me.

"Yes" I said truthfully.

I was trying to make it sound like no big deal.

"Did you manage to summon any daedra?" J'zargo then questioned me.

I kept acting as if it didn't matter.

"Just a Flame Atronach" I said "But Brelyna can summon them too and way faster than I can. She's far more talented at conjuration than me".

I wasn't sure how J'zargo felt about that I but if a blush and a smile meant the same for Dark Elves than it for humans then I knew Brelyna had liked hearing that.

"Another thing is that I need to remind you to start your research projects" the Arch Mage was now saying "Your friend Brelyna has already been doing some research"

The project was a big deal because you had to come up with a thesis or dissertation much like you would for an academic degree, or you couldn't graduate from the college. Not that you really needed to do it any student could stay as long as they wanted at the college and then call themselves a Wizard, but if you wanted to be a court mage or to ever become a member of staff at the college than you had to do a decent dissertation.

It didn't have to original research you could simply do your own analysis of an already well explored topic as long it was your own work or even try to disprove another person's work, and given that in order to pass the thesis had to approve by a committee made up several of the staff at the college they'd know if it wasn't a student's own work.

In essence it was like a master's degree in magic and some students spent up to two years before feeling ready to present their findings. I didn't have that kind of time so I'd present my thesis before long.

"I just don't have any ideas" Onmund complained.

"Excuse, excuses, go read in the library and you'll eventually find some topic that catches your interest" Faralda said.

I already had a few ideas about mine, but still I'd need to some reading up before I put ink to parchment. Morgana had her Crimson Nirnroot so I just needed to find something in this world that interested me as much.


	4. Chapter 4

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold**

**Part 4**

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim**

While under the light of candles and lanterns I used an old fashioned quill to write. It reacquired a slow pace from me, yet there was something oddly appealing about recording information in such a primitive way. Plus this was good practice for when I'd have to use a quill while attending Hogwarts, which seemed likely to happen.

_Ancient Ayleids recognised not the four elements of modern natural philosophy - earth, water, air, and fire - but the four elements of Altmer religion - earth, water, air, and light._

Well they weren't the modern elements to me, but this was a magic school.

_The Ayleids considered fire to be but a weak and corrupt form of light, which Ayleid philosophers identified with primary magical principles. Thus their ancient subterranean temples and sanctuaries were lit by lamps, globes, pools, and fountains of purest magic._

I finishing copying the text and while the ink dried I thought about why I had just written down those words.

_Glories and Laments_, a book that by Alexandre Hetrard seemed to support my idea that Welkynd Stones had not been played in Ayleid cities as a way of allowing their mages to quickly recharge their powers as many scholars thought, they were in fact nothing more than fancy light bulbs.

Of course I couldn't just say they were light bulbs as I needed to prove it and also explain the concept wouldn't mean anything to people on this planet, as such I had to introduce the idea of the light bulb as part of my thesis.

Once I'd gotten the idea of light bulbs across it wouldn't be hard to prove that Welkynd stones were just fancy light bulbs as the stones were often found on top of pedestals high up which didn't make sense if they were meant to allow a mage easy access. However being placed so high did allow the stones to provide greater illumination with their light.

I was going to mention that Varla Stones could serve the same purpose as they were sometimes kept in cages and those cages could be moved with switches which allowed the Varla Stones to light up room.

This was similar to using a lantern in that it allowed people to control how much light there was in a room. Granted this was overly complex, but given that the Ayleids were found of setting complex traps it meant that they enjoy having very elaborate light sources in their cities.

Also because they revered light it also made sense that they went to the trouble of placing the stones on stylish pedestals. The stones were practical in how they worked as well as decorative in design showing that they were cared for.

While in my own view this subject was pretty dull, I thought it sound enough and no had ever said my research had to be interesting. Besides I didn't have a lot of time to work on this project. However this project would involve a bit more work and I might even visit one of the ruins to in order to recover some stones so I could demonstrate why I thought they were just light sources.

I would need to obtain a Varla Stone, a term which translated as star stone, and according to my research they were enchanted shards of cut meteoric glass, that came from Aetherius, spirit-plane, which was the source of magic, a meteorite in this dimension were bits of that plane that got dislodged somehow and fall onto Nirn.

The stones were created by the Ayleids. The luminescent white crystals were remarkably powerful, enabling even untrained magic users to restore magical energy to any number of enchanted items. Welkynd Stones were much the same only they recharged a person's magic rather than an items.

Because of their great value and utility, many of these artefacts were looted from Ayleid ruins after the disappearance of their creators. As such, intact Varla Stones were also extremely rare, but since they are small and easily concealed there could still be some hidden away in the ruins of the Ayleid civilisation even after all these centuries.

When used, a Varla Stone would crumble to dust, and there is no known way of recharging or preserving the stone, although scholars believe that their magical power may have originally been maintained by the Great Welkynd Stone of an Ayleid city.

Which made me realise that I might need to seek out a Great Welkynd Stone and try to find out if there was some sort of power transfer between them and the lesser stones. If so the Great Welkynd Stone could be some sort of massive magical battery.

I then heard a sigh and looked up to see Onmund pacing the library. He was still trying to find a subject that he could become passionate about.

"If you don't mind a suggestion I have an idea of what you could write about" I said to the Nord.

I couldn't of gotten his attention faster without being a naked Nord woman who wanted to serve him mead.

"Oh?" he asked.

I put down my quill.

"When we met you told me all about why the Nords distrust magic" I said "But you don't think badly of magic so perhaps you could write about how magic helps the people of Skyrim".

Onmund walked over and sat down next to me. He was so big that she looked like he had just taken a seat at the kiddy table. But I didn't comment on that.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I thought it over a bit more before answering him.

"Well magic can help people. Priests use magic to heal people and Skyrim is a rough place without those spells many people around here would have died of sickness rather than in battle" I said to the massive man "The Jarls have Court Mages to advise them on important issues, and there are weapons enchanted with fire spells that are good when fighting trolls so a few people must like them".

Onmund was hanging on my every word so I kept going.

"If you don't want to read through all these books to find some examples you could ask people, you know interview them and take down what they say" I advised "Then you could say how you agree with what other people are saying and add your own opinions on why magic isn't so bad".

Onmund wasn't stupid he was just a little out of his depth here, but with a little help I believed he could become a proper Mage.

"That might just work" the Nord agreed "and I wouldn't need to spend all my time with my nose in a book".

I'd pretty much given an excuse to go and hang out with his people, which would involve drinking and fighting while gathering his evidence.

"If I were you I'd start here" I then advised "The College has to support itself somehow so maybe someone is paying the college to do something for them. This could be helping people which shows Nords benefiting from having magic users like us around".

Thinking on it I realised that I could have done that to, just from the perspective of an outsider rather then a Nord, and it actually sounded far more interesting that what I was doing but I'd given away the idea now.

"Like how we used magic to kill those bandits" Onmund realised.

"Yeah that is a good example" I replied "You could speak to the Jarl and ask him how us getting rid of those bandits effected the people of Winterhold for the better".

I had to wonder if I'd ever settle down and become a teacher once I had my Planeswalker Spark, maybe I'd teach at this college.

"Thank you, my friend!" said Onmund before getting up and leaving the library "I will start right away!".

As for me I had to see if I could purchase a Welkynd Stone from somewhere, because while I could travel to the Imperial City easily enough everyone would expect me to be gone for weeks if not months, so if I couldn't just buy one I'd have to find something to occupy my time.

(Line Break)

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim.**

"You can read Daedric?!" Onmund said in surprise.

That subject of discussion had come about due to the morning's lecture on Daedra Summoning. The lesson had ended but we were all still in hall expressing our opinions.

"Sure. I've always found the Oblivion and the many varied realms and entities that inhabit it absolutely fascinating. Why do you think I got into Conjuration?" replied Brelyna the Dark Elf "We know so very little about them even after studying them for centuries. There's still much to learn about Oblivion I'd love to visit one of the planes".

Onmund continued to stare at her, fearful concern for his friend now present in his eyes.

"Summoning lesser Daedra is one thing" the Nord said "but to actually travel to those evil places you'd have to be mad!".

Well I'd go, but I was strong enough to mess with demonic like creatures in their own realm. Of course I had energy weapons, advanced armour, shields, phase tech and a cyborg bodyguard.

"I'm not foolhardy enough to actually go" Brelyna told her Nord friend" I am well aware Oblivion is dangerous, but to call it 'evil' is far too simplistic. The Daedra, particularly the Princes, are very different from us and given to extremes, with motivations we mortals can rarely grasp".

Still I would avoid contact with them if possible.

"They certainly are capable of evil, yes, but they aren't inherently bad" the Dark Elf was now saying "You have to remember that they aren't different from the Aedra, what humans call the Divines, except that they refused to help create our world. Isn't that what "Daedra" means in Aldmeris? 'Not our ancestors', while Aedra means 'our ancestors'".

That was actually true. The Nine Divines, or eight while the Thalmor were around, were really not that different form the Princes. Talos had been human at one point so he wasn't truly an Aedra but he was still a god, which could be confusing for some.

"Some people would call that heresy" Onmund said in a tone which suggested he did.

Thankfully Nords only got really upset about religious matters when other people told them who and what to worship. Which was why Ulfric Stormclock had been able to issue of Talos worship to rally so many Nords to his side.

"This is isn't about religion, this is about coming closer to understanding the nature of entities that, for better or worse, exist alongside our world. Isn't pushing the boundaries to see what's beyond what being a Mage is really all about?" Brelyna said before turning to me "You agree with me, don't you?"

Carefully I thought about my answer as I didn't want to alienate any of my peers at this college.

"I don't see them all as inherently evil, and Oblivion isn't necessarily as a place of evil either" I started by saying "The Princes like Dagon, Vile and Bol should be avoided. They are dangerous and cruel, but Azura shouldn't be tarred with the same brush as some of the others. They are different and should be judged on their actions alone not on those of their race".

Judging any people due to their race, be they mortal or immortal, wasn't a good idea.

"Well, said friend" praised the cat man.

Like Morgana he had been listening to our debate but not saying much.

"Ah good you're all here" Savos Aren the Arch-Mage said upon seeing that were still in the hall "Urag recently reminded me of certain volumes that he would like back in the library, and I think you should fetch them for him".

All of us mere apprentices exchanged a meaningful glances, and it was Onmund who asked a question

"Have they been lost?" he asked.

The Arch-Mage shook his head.

"No a couple of years ago a few of our members were involved in research that went beyond what is allowed here" Aren answered "When they wouldn't desist, they were...persuaded to leave, but not before one of them stole a number of books and supplies from the College".

I had to wonder what they were up given that mages performed Necromancy and conjured Daedra done in the Midden. Then upon thinking about it I decided that I likely didn't wish to know what they'd been doing.

"Now that isn't the real issue" Aren went on to say "what really matters is that they are still active and recently they have started causing enough trouble to get the attention of some of the local villages. If they are allow to keep harassing people then the College's already dubious reputation will suffer even further, but your priority is those books".

It was clear to me that we were being offered the chance to aid the College and since we'd dealt with those bandits easily enough then it was possible that we could solve this little problem too.

I imagined that if the dragons weren't an issue, and if not for the war that the staff of the College would have dealt with these rogue mages sometime ago. However these days it wouldn't be wise to leave the College undefended.

"Last I heard, they'd taken up residence inside an old abandoned fort northeast of Whiterun called Fellglow Keep" we were informed "I'm told your combined talents will be useful for a venture like this, which is why I am entrusting it into your hands".

This seemed a risky to send students, but I was sure the Arch Mage had his reasons.

"Sir" asked Brelyna "What did they do?".

Savos Aren gave her a sharp look before answering.

"All you need to know, Apprentice, is that they endangered the safety and well-being of this College and its residents, which is something I will not tolerate" the Arch-Mage said in a harsh tone of voice that soon softened "I'd like this solved peacefully, if possible, but do not let your guard down. Their leader, Aranaea, is particularly dangerous".

This time none of us spoke.

"Now this is a volunteer only task" said the Dark Elf Arch Mage "No one will think less of you if as a group you decided you are not ready".

None of us even considered backing down, and the old spell caster directed us to go speak with the librarian before we left on our mission.

(Line Break)

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim.**

"So, the Arch-Mage has finally decided to sort this out!" Urag commented with a certain amount of sarcasm when we finally located him among the stacks "Although it looks like you'll be doing the sorting. Good luck with that".

We would need more than this to go on.

"What can you tell us about these mages?" Brelyna asked "And which books did they take?".

It made sense for the Dark Elf woman to gather the information as while the grizzly old librarian while he at least tolerated my existence, he had a soft spot for the Dumner woman.

"Most of them were apprentices here like yourselves, nothing out of the ordinary, although one or two were quite skilled, so be careful" we were warned "The one you really need to watch out for is Aranaea she a good Conjurer"

Well so was Brelyna, and I wasn't too bad myself.

"The books you'll be looking for are Night of Tears, The Last King of the Ayleids and Fragment: On Artaeum" we were informed me "They are rare, otherwise I'd wouldn't bother to send you out for them".

Technically he wasn't the one sending us.

"They took some others too, but I have copies of those tomes so getting them back would just be a bonus for us".

Morgana wrote the titles of the books down so we wouldn't forget them.

"Let's get a plan together" I suggested "I have a few ideas of how we can get there quickly".

(Line Break)

**Fellglow Keep. Skyrim.**

Rather than walk all the way here I'd decided to expose the existence of my MAKO to my fellow students as it just made sense to drive around Skyrim in a tank rather than walk and have to camp out in the wilderness.

This cut down on our travel time by quite a bit, by days, so I planned for us to hang out in Whiterun for a day or two, and then I'd drive us all back to the College. No one would need to know how we had traversed the dangerous countryside.

"Stop right there! Don't take another step!" a voice shouted out as we got close to the fort.

We College Mages did as instructed and we all saw another Mage up on the battlements looking down at us.

"We want no trouble!" Onmund shouted back "We just want to talk!"

There was a bit of pause before there was a reply.

"Talk about what? Who are you?" we were asked.

Since diplomacy could win through here it would be wise to talk. I did have some diplomatic skills thanks to practical experience and Perks.

"It would be easier to explain if we didn't have to shout at each other like this!" I said "May we approach?".

So far these renegade mages didn't seem very violent, but that didn't mean that we should drop our guard.

"All right!" came the response after what felt like an eternity. "Approach, but slowly and keep your hands at your sides. if we see any weapons being drawn or if you cast even one spells then you die".

We made our way to a door and met a different mage once here. This one was no happier to see us than the last had been.

"Speak, then, and be quick about it!" demanded the dangerous magic user.

I spoke for the group.

"We're from the College of Winterhold, and we wish to talk to your leader, Aranaea about some books" I said truthfully "And we are willing to pay to get them back".

There was no sense lying, and I had enough gold to buy any book I wished so I might as well try to buy them back.

"Let me guess" the rogue magic user said with a snort "Aren got you to run this errand for him".

I saw no reason to confirm or deny it.

"Are you going to take us to Aranaea or not?" I then asked.

I would have greatly preferred a smooth transaction, but that didn't seem likely to happen.

"No I don't think so. If Aren has anything to say, he can come say it himself. You four can go back and tell him that" was what we were told.

I sighed. I didn't want this to turn into a violet situation as while I could slaughter everyone here I'd rather not expose my powers, nor would Morgana, and if things did get out of hand Cameron, who was with us while out of phase, would also clue people into her true nature. I'd have to open up the Cosmic Warehouse and grab the tech I used to mess with memories it would be hassle.

"We came to talk to her, not you" I pointed out "Unless you speak for her".

That did the trick.

"I'll take you to her, but she might just kill you" warned the rogue mage "it depends on her mood".

After some walking we reached an open circular area which was mostly empty save for a sole golden-skinned Elf who was sitting on a stool with his nose in a book.

"Who are they?" he asked.

He seemed mildly curious at best.

"They're here to see her" our guide explained "Watch them for me while I go tell her, will you?"

Then the guide turned to us.

"You four wait here, and don't make a move" he ordered.

We intended to do just that, but of course something happened, something always happened.

"H-Hello? Is anyone there?" a new voice soon called out.

We apprentices turned our heads towards the source of the call and found that it came from behind a door.

"Whose that?" I asked while sounding casual.

"Yes! You! You out there, help me! Please!" said the voice.

The Altmer with the book, rather than answer just banged on the door and told who ever was the other side to shut up.

"They'll never let you leave here alive!" the voice shouted out "You've got to get me out of here before they experiment on all of us".

Now I knew that there would be bloodshed. If these mages were taking captives for experimenting then they wouldn't pass up a chance to acquire five more healthy bodies.

"I said, shut up!" the criminal mage shouted almost as loudly as the locked up person.

The five of us looked at each and an unspoken understanding passed between us, and then five magical attacks struck the rogue mage. Killing him before he even knew he was in any sort of danger.

"The key!" yelled the man behind the door. "He has it! Quickly, before the rest of them get here!"

Then we liberated the wrongly imprisoned person who turned out to be High Elf, who was staring hopefully at his would-be rescuers. There were two more cages next to his; these contained a couple of half-starved wolves who bared their teeth and growled at us.

There were three control levers jutted from a pedestal in the middle of the room, each obviously corresponding to one of the cages. And there was something else: another door, I had no idea where it went.

I killed the wolves quickly, to put the poor things out of their misery before pushing any of the leavers. The creatures had been starved and judging by the foam coating their mouths they were rabid as well.

"Oh, thank Julianos!" the elf exclaimed as I released him from his prison. "You're from the College, aren't you? Aren sent you to rescue me!"

Again we all looked at each other and the group let me answer for everyone.

"Yeah sure let's go with that" I said.

The captive didn't much care what I had to say he was just eager to get of this hell hole, and I didn't blame him for that one bit.

"We need to deal with Aranaea" I reminded everyone before addressing the captive "and we are not leaving until we do. So if you want to get out of here you better help us".

The man we'd just saved looked like he was going to protest, but then changed his mind.

"Follow me! Trust me, this way is better!" the High Elf said.

My Dark Elf friend conjured a Flame Atronach and gave it two simple commands: "Stay. Guard".

Smart we would need to keep the exit cleared.

"Stendarr's mercy" Onmund whispered as moved into another set of rooms, having gone through the door I'd noticed before when entering the jail.

We were now in some kind of laboratory, judging by the tool cabinets and bookshelves lining the walls, although it could just as easily be labelled as a torture chamber. Splayed on a long wooden table was the body of a woman who was human, or at least had been at some point.

What was left could only be called a travesty. Blood was everywhere, and it all stank to high heaven.

"One of her experiments" I heard someone mutter.

More horrors greeted us in the next room. Iron cages that were suspended over fire pits contained the blackened remains of unlucky prisoners and those still alive were kept in rags. Also they had red eyes and sets of sharp looking teeth.

They were clearly vampires.

"Release us!" said one of the blood drinkers. "We can help you! Quickly, while there's still time!"

That was not going to happen. I loathed the undead. The whole blood drinking thing freaked me out. Serana had grown on me, but she'd helped me save the world, even a vampire could earn my respect doing something that important.

"Yeah, release a bunch of hungry vampires, what a wonderful idea" I said with great sarcasm.

"J'zargo thinks that unwise" said J'zargo.

Clearly he didn't get sarcasm, not that it mattered as we soon incinerated the vamps. Vampires that didn't feed became more vulnerable to fire attacks.

"Orthorn" I said, having learned the name of the dark elf "Do you know what happened to the books you stole from the College when you left? There were three volumes: Fragment: On Artaeum, The Last King of the Ayleids, and Night of Tears".

The young Altmer's brow furrowed as he searched his memory for clues.

"There in her chambers" he guessed "Probably, I don't know; I haven't seen them since I gave them to her, but she seemed particularly interested in one of the volumes".

I'd like to know which book had her attention because it had to have something to do with what was going on here.

"You mean Aranaea?" Brelyna clarified.

It was pretty clear that he did mean her, but we never got conformation as the elf we had risked our lives to save had already changed the subject.

"Wait...did you come here for the books? Th-the Arch-Mage didn't send you to rescue me?" he asked.

Our silence told him everything he needed to know.

"I see. Well...if you do decide to confront her, I'll stand with you" Orthorn promised "She lied to me, pretended to be my friend, then she threw me in a cage when she was done using me. The rest of them too; they would all have stood and watched while she turned me inside out and not lifted a finger. So, yes...I'll stand with you".

He was not the smartest man I'd ever met, but he was brave and he soon proved his worth by showing us the keep's treasure trove. Shimmering like jewels on top of a cabinet to the right were at least a dozen soul gems, those crystalline constructs mages used to trap the essence of living beings and used them to power enchantments. They were quite rare and highly sought after by Mages.

I had a version of Asura's Star so a lack of Soul Gems was never a problem for me as long there were people around. I just had trouble harvesting souls as I disliked killing people unless they were a threat to myself or to people I cared about.

Still there were other valuables in the room, including books, not the books we'd been sent after but since I hadn't gotten around to introducing the printing press to Skyrim then all books were copied by hand making them expensive so we took them all.

Thinking on I really should create diagram for the printing press and give it to some local inventor who could claim credit for it. If I had the time I'd build one myself, but I had important things to and places to explore.

After our looting Orthorn guided us through some back passages, this allowed us to avoid the enemy, who were no doubt looking for us. Sure we still had to deal with two rogue mages but they fell quickly to our superior numbers.

Then we found Aranaea and she was as evil as her actions suggested. I could feel it in the Force, really bad vibes were coming off her.

"So, you're the ones who barged into my home" Aranaea said upon seeing us enter her chambers.

She sounded surprisingly calm about the whole thing, but there was real madness in her eyes. I'd seen it before. This was proven when the Altmer did not so much as flinch even as we prepared to fight her. She remained standing in the centre of the room, regarding us with detached interest.

"It's over, Aranaea" I said "Give us the books".

Everyone tensed up, expecting spells to start flying any moment but my words didn't have the desired effect.

"Was that an attempt to threaten me?" Aranaea asked "After I've been so hospitable? You come here, kill my assistants, and disrupt my work. I'd like to know why".

She seemed offended rather than worried.

"We've seen the kind of 'work' you were doing here," Onmund said.

He more than any of us had been disgusted by what we'd seen the labs. No doubt right now he felt his people's inherit distrust of magic was well deserved.

"You're just like Aren, wilfully blind to..."

That was when I hit her with a firebolt and so did everyone else. They'd just been waiting for someone to make the first move and I'd been the one to make it. I'd know that the villain monologue would be the perfect time to strike as they always let their guard down when they make their bullshit speeches.

"I didn't want to stand around listening to her all day" I told everyone "Now let's grab those books and get out of here".

As we did that I made a mental note to let Orthorn make his own way home. He betrayed the college once so I didn't trust him with my advanced technology.

We quickly found the stolen books and before long the High Elf was guiding us out of the bad lady's lair.

(Line Break)

**Winterhold. Skyrim.**

"When I found this forge and the recipes, I worked relentlessly to create more summon-related recipes that anyone can learn. If you like, I can make you a staff".

Tempting but there was something else I needed.

"I need a Sigil Stone. Do you know how to get one?" I asked.

While I had ways of reaching other realities that didn't involve starting new Jumps, such as Matter Bridge technology, I wanted a Sigil Stone because they could be used to access this plane of existence from the realms of Oblivion, were as Matter Bridge tech only took you to alternate versions of the reality you were already in.

If for some reason I failed to obtain the Planeswalker Spark and ended up back in home dimension I wanted methods of leaving that world as it would be far too small for me. I'd never be able to go back to living a normal life, not after all the things I'd seen and done.

Even if I could tolerate such an existence it wouldn't last long as people would notice things, and wonder stuff like: why Summer Glau was living at my house. Also if any of my advanced technology was discovered, people from the government would come for it.

Then I'd have to fight in order to avoid getting locked up and used as a science experiment, which end up with me becoming hunted, it would be clusterfuck and I'd rather avoid by being able to move to other worlds as needed.

"A Sigil Stone?" Phinis asked in a surprised way "Why do you need one of those?".

"Research" was all I said on that subject.

Which wasn't a lie, I would need to research the stone before I tried using it.

"Well I have been preparing a ritual that can summon an Unbound Dremora to obtain a stone" Phinis told me "If you summon a Dremora Lord while it is bound, it won't work because your control ends when it returns to Oblivion. But if you summon an Unbound Dremora and get it under your control, then you can command it to retrieve the Sigil Stone for you".

That could work.

"Okay, so what do I need to do?" I asked.

I was eager to start.

"Once I teach you the spell, go to the top of the Hall of Attainment and there you will summon the Unbound Dremora, how you bring it in under your control is up to you" I was instructed "And when you have the stone, bring it to me, and I will teach you more".

Phinis taught me the spell by placing it into my mind.

"Thanks, I will be back with the stone" I promised.

First I'd get his and then I'd get one for me.

(Line Break)

**College of Winterhold. Skyrim.**

I used the spell and in the centre of the summoning circle here on the roof, a sort of purple vortex appeared and an Unbound Dremora appeared before me.

"You insect! How dare you summon me! For that, you will pay!" it roared.

I blasted the demon like creature with magical lightning, which it did not enjoy. I didn't care much since I just saw this thing as a monster. With its blood red armour and horns it looked too much like what I thought of as a demon for me to care about its feelings.

Which was wise because it wouldn't care at all about mine. If given the chance the Dremora would happily torture me to death, dragging out the torment for as long as possible. Although this might no be the case for all types of daedra, some were more reasonable while others were really just dangerous animals.

"You puny mortal! You cannot control me!" it yelled.

I blasted it again and again, and when it died I summoned up the same daedra as when it died it was only banished back to Oblivion, which was also another reason not to feel bad about this as nothing I was doing would really harm the creature in any long term way.

Well that wasn't totally true. I could soul trap the Dremora, or use Caliburn to destroy the creature, in theory, but that was something to test once I had mastered the art of conjuration.

"Never!" the Dremora cried out.

It soon regretted saying that as it gave me a chance to train in Destruction magic, there was something so right about being able to shooting lightning from your finger tips, it felt natural to me. I resisted the urge to scream about 'unlimited power'.

"That is enough!" the creature shouted "Have mercy".

Well I did have some mercy so I stopped.

"Do I have to shock your ass again?" I asked "Or will you do as I command?".

The Dremora hesitated, but gave in before long due to more torture.

"Very well, what are your demands?" it enquired.

There was only one thing I wanted from this monster.

"I want you to bring me a Sigil Stone" I said.

The Dremora growled.

"As you wish, summon me again and I will have your stone" it told me

With that, the Unbound Dremora disappeared. After a minute I summoned the Dremora once more. Somehow it already had the stone, perhaps time didn't flow the same way in the realms of Oblivion.

"I have brought you the Sigil Stone" said the creature, just before I banished it "Lord Dagon will be very unhappy when out that one of his stones is missing".

Well I'd be gone from this part of the multiverse very soon so I didn't care about that. What I did care about was Phinis who as it turned out didn't want the stone he'd just wanted someone else to test out the spell.

I should have been mad about that, but I had the stone I wanted, and as a bonus I could a spell book for the spell Unbound Dark Seducer.

"Don't be gentle with them. They like pain" Phinis told me.

I'd practice my summoning a lot more before I brought one of those creatures to the mortal realm for some fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold**

**Part 5**

**Winterhold. Skyrim.**

After downing a quick breakfast, I'd headed to the Arcanaeum to do a little bit of research on the Nord ruin that we apprentices would soon visiting, but not just because I was curious about Saarthal, but because it was important.

Onmund had mentioned yesterday that it had been one of the first settlements of the Nords in Tamriel. Also since we'd be visiting the place that contained the Eye of Magnus it seemed like a good idea to learn about the city which held the strange relic.

According to the books, some of which I was able to scan into my omni-tool when no one was around, Saarthal was the first city built in Skyrim after the arrival of Nords from Atmora, another part of Nirn, a very long time ago.

Saarthal was also the first capital of Nord civilization in Tamriel, as well as the largest of the ancient Nordic cities. The city was destroyed by the Snow Elves, before they became the falmer, and then rebuilt by Ysgramor after he retook the city.

It was destroyed again and finally abandoned sometime later, but I couldn't find any details on that as it wasn't as if the Arcanaeum had a search engine, and there were so many books to look over.

Before heading out I checked with Urag-gro Shub, the keeper of the vast library, about the excavation that was in-progress. It was being funded by Arniel Gane, a researcher of strange magic here at the College.

Apparently he particularly interested in finding out about the prevalence of magical seals on the tombs. They were apparently unique. I had no idea what that actually meant, I would have to go and find out.

I'd thanked the elderly Orc for his time, leaving with a warning that I had better not have damaged the books and waited in the courtyard for Morgana, Brelyna, J'zargo and Onmund to join me.

They arrived a few minutes later one-by-one and we set off together. I told them what I had learned about the ancient ruin and it's history. While it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

We all viewed the excavation differently: J'zargo saw it as an opportunity to find some more magical artefacts and a little gold too; Brelyna thought that it was better than just learning about magic in the Hall of Elements; Onmund was rather indignant about it, feeling that the site of his ancestors should remain undisturbed.

Morgana and I had different feelings than the others as we knew that a chain of events would soon start that could led to the end of the world if not handled correctly. I'd considered simply demolishing the place with a nice bomb, but they might just dig it up again once I'd left this world.

Plus I wouldn't mind have two Staffs of Magnus, and there were bound to other treasures to loot if I stuck to the quest line. However if the college, and by extension the world, look to be in danger I'd used the staff that Morgana had brought with her CP to sort out the Eye.

(Line Break)

**Saarthal. Skyrim.**

Our teacher, Tolfdir was already waiting for us when we reached the entrance. Which took a while as this time I didn't take the MAKO.

"And here we all are. Shall we step inside?" he asked.

Again I spoke for the group.

"We're ready, sir," I told him "Let's go".

We began heading inside.

"Alright. Please stay close to me while we're inside," he warned us, "it should be safe, but it's always better to be cautious".

He opened the ornate iron doors and led us as we descended down the narrow staircase into the ruin. The ruins were a combination of natural stone combined with wooden supports and struts, which were new, but the stone work was old yet still in good shape. The ancient Nords sure knew how to build places to last.

I noticed the many urns, intact and broken, lay scattered around the place, along with the remains of skeleton, a skull here and there. I wondered if these were the remains of people who had fought and died to defend this city from the Snow Elves.

So far, there wasn't anything of major interest. However I knew that would change as we ventured further into the ancient settlement.

As Tolfdir told us a little about the ruin's history, Morgana sidled up close to me.

"Good thing we already have experience in exploring Nord ruins" she said.

I nodded in agreement. If we weren't experienced with the undead that could endanger explorers in these sort places we might be in trouble.

"Well, are there any questions before we begin?" our teacher asked.

There were none.

"Why don't you and Morgana see if you can assist Arniel Gane?" the mage said to me.

That suited me fine.

"The one fronting the excavation?" I asked "He's interested in the magical seals from what I hear".

He smiled a little. Pleased that I'd learned about this place before coming here.

"Yes, he'd appreciate any help in finding and cataloguing any magical artefacts that can be found" the old man said "Any enchanted items will do; the usefulness is irrelevant. If you do find something, the class can look it over".

And possibly I'd keep a few things for myself.

"Now, what shall we have the rest of you do?" our teacher was now saying "Brelyna, my dear, why don't you search for warding magics. Anything designed to keep people out. Don't interact with them, just identify them".

"Yes, sir," she complied, "come on Onmund, you can help me".

"Fine," the Nord said.

He was still disapproving of the whole thing, and I didn't blame him. We were going to be digging around the bones of his ancestors.

"J'zargo will find something... worthwhile to occupy his time," said J'zargo

With that he slipped away.

"All right, everyone. Let's be careful, but have fun!" our teacher called out.

I rolled my eyes a little upon hearing Tolfdir's words. What, did he think we were still children? Then again given that wizards could live along time he would naturally she us as kids even if I might actually be older than him.

Before long Morgana and I were descending further down into the excavation site. After crossing over stone bridge into a side passage, we met a balding man in mage robes, and he was leaning over a table nearby.

"It will take forever to sift through all this..." he was saying.

This man sounded tired and a little frustrated. He certainly seemed as if he needed the help.

"Excuse me, sir. Tolfdir sent us to help you" I told Arniel Gane

He turned to me, and I saw the large bags under his eyes which were caused by him getting little sleep.

"Oh, you must be one of the new apprentices then" said Arniel Gane "Fine, fine just... don't make a mess of my work, all right? I've only looked through a portion of this section. You can, uh, search the area north of here. Can you do that?".

I nodded.

"Yes sir, I'll let you know if we find anything" I answered.

Morgana and I separated before long, and while it took some time to find anything I did recover two enchanted rings, I could tell that they were enchanted, however I didn't know what sort of enchantments they carried, only that it wasn't strong magic as my senses didn't pick much from them. I'd hand them over to Gane later on, assuming that I remembered.

While looking around I found an amulet that did register as strong with magic to my senses, and I knew it was important so I took the amulet of it's stand and then turned around, intending to report back to Gane. But my way was suddenly blocked by metal spears that had risen up out of holes in the ground.

I began to look around for some kind of release mechanism that would lower the spears, a chain, a switch. But there was nothing. Nothing that would open it. I was about to bend the bars with my mind powers.

"What in the world was that racket? Is everything alright?" someone asked.

Tolfdir turned up before I could free myself. Not that it really matter as I was fairly certain that there was another way to go, and that I was suppose to go that way.

"Hmm... perhaps that amulet is important somehow" mused the mage as he studied my situation "Is there some way you can use it?".

I looked down at the amulet that I held in my hand. It did seem to have a very powerful enchantment on it, and that made it somewhat risky to simply put on, but I didn't feel any warnings from the Force and I didn't exactly have any other options available so I put it on over my head. Immediately, I felt some energy surge through me. Somehow, my magic felt stronger, it must give a boost to mana.

"Did you see that?" the teacher asked,

I then looked at the wall I got the amulet from. It had changed.

"Some kind of resonance between you and the wall" said Tolfdir "it must be connected to the amulet!".

He was right, I could remember now. I clapped my hands together, formed a firebolt in the space between them, then I fired it at the wall, which soon crumbled away.

"Well, that's one way of doing it," Tolfdir said.

As the dust cleared up, I saw that there was another passage behind the wall. Also the spears had vanished.

"This appears to lead somewhere" the teacher was now saying "Let's see where it goes."

I ended letting him take the lead down the passage. It led down a naturally formed cave, which was lighted up with torches that lit themselves up as we got near them. Also I saw patches of moss that were clinging to the walls, however that was of no interest to me. Nor did the sight of an embalming tool and a skull, which weren't uncommon sights in ruins such as this.

"Why in the world would this be sealed off from the rest of the settlement?" Tolfdir "What is this place?".

Before long the passage had ended, opening up into another room. Right away I noticed that there was a stone table in the middle of the room, as well as several pieces of ancient parchment placed atop it, along with a few candle stubs.

Another thing I took note of were the three stone coffins, one on each wall, and they were propped up against the walls. Thankfully, whatever was in them stayed in them, at least for now.

"So, this was all that wall had sealed off" Tolfdir was now saying "A small burial chamber for the ancient Nords of great importance perhaps?"

I wanted to be relieved that it was nothing more dangerous here than cobwebs and coffins. However I knew for a fact that there was something down here that could destroy this entire world.

Suddenly there was bright light and when I looked at Tolfdir I saw that he was frozen in the position of examining the table.

"Hold mage and listen well" said a voice.

I turned to see an Altmer male who was dressed as a mage of sort, or maybe a monk, he was standing in the room with us, yet he hadn't been there mere moments ago.

"Know that you have set in motion a chain of events that cannot be stopped" I was warned "Judgement has not been passed, as you had no way of knowing. Yet judgement will be passed on your actions to come, and how you deal with the dangers ahead of you".

Okay then.

"This warning is passed to you because the Psijic Order believes in you" the elf told me "You mage, and you alone, have the potential to prevent disaster. Take great care and know the Order is watching".

Then things were back to normal.

"I... I swear I felt something rather strange just now..." the teacher said.

Tolfdir was touching his forehead, like he had a headache. It seemed that he hadn't notice time stopping, but he did seem to have been effected by it.

"I just received a warning from a member of the Psijic Order" I informed the old wizard "He told me there was danger ahead, we need to move carefully".

Of course I knew much than that, but I wasn't sure how much information would be safe to share. Also I didn't know much about the Psijic Order, other than that they were secretive order of powerful mages, with a history pre-dating the Empire itself. A long time ago, they'd simply vanished, along with their sanctuary. They hadn't been seen for over one hundred years according to what little there was written about them.

While it was clear that they didn't wish to interfere with the rest of the world, it wasn't know if they were good guys, bad guys, or just a bunch of hermits. Clearly they had a lot of power, however what their agenda might be was something people could only guess at.

"The Psijic Order? Are you sure? That's very odd. And danger ahead?" my teacher muttered "Why, that doesn't make any sense at all. The Order has no connection to these ruins and no-one has seen them in a long time".

Tolfdir looked around.

"Perhaps we should take a look in some of these coffins," he suggested. "Now, please be careful. Who knows what we're going to find".

I couldn't help feeling amused for some reason.

"If we end up releasing some ancient evil, don't worry. I'll say it was my idea" I promised.

Tolfdir chuckled, and it was good to know that least someone around here had a sense of humour. However our good mood didn't last as when I opened a coffin I got just enough warning from the Force to avoid getting killed by an undead.

"There may be more of them," my teacher warned

After descending more stairs, there was a gate to the next room. A skeleton was hanging on the wall next to it, held by iron shackles. I tried not to look at it, instead I pulled the lever next to the door.

This room was larger than the last one. There was a bridge in the centre, which was surrounded by candles that had somehow been lit, and the bridge crossed over a cage, which was showing the floor beneath.

About a dozen coffins were placed in groves in the rock around the bridge, so that they surrounded us. I looked down through the cage floor and saw that there were rows and rows of coffins, descending into the darkness below.

Before long I heard the sound coffin lids hitting the floor and I saw their occupants stepping out. I sent a firebolt at the closest draugr. My magic took that undead out of the fight, at least for the moment, but there were still four more around the room. Two were charging over the bridge with battle-axes, the other two shooting from afar with bows and arrows. One of them was aiming right at me.

I also saw a draugr charging at me, his battle-axe raised to lop off my head. Since there was a telekinesis spell I could get away with using my mind powers to move things. Knowing that I pushed the undead with the battle-axe guy into the path of the arrow, rather than let my kinetic barrier handle it.

Once my shield had done its work I cooked him with a flow of fire for good measure. I then sent a couple of firebolts at the bow-wielding one. The creature didn't even try to dodge as I incinerated the monster. The teacher with me was dealing with the rest.

When the last of the undead were dealt with I turned to check on Tolfdir, who was looking through the floor at the ancient morgue that was below us. He appeared fascinated by it all, and I noted that he'd dealt with the rest of the undead. He had a lot more power than I'd realised.

"I've never seen anything like this before in Nordic ruins. Why, just look at all these coffins!" he said to me "This bares closer investigation. I'd like to stay a while and examine this area".

Fate must intend for me to find the Eye of Magnus, and to prevent it from it from blowing up the world. Although I did have to wonder why The Psijic Order, who would later take custody of the Eye of Magnus, didn't just take it now? Perhaps they weren't prepared yet.

"I'll see if I can find anything like that Psijic warned me about" I said.

The old mage nodded.

I'll catch up with you as soon as I can" he said "And Gothic, if it is truly dangerous, please be careful".

"Of course, sir" was my reply.

(Line Breaks)

**Saarthal. Skyrim.**

The Nords or the Psijics or whomever had set up the defences around the Eye, certainly hadn't wanted the Eye of Magus to be accessed easily. I had to fight my way through quite a few draugr, then solve a pillar puzzle.

By now I was starting to wonder how much deeper I would have to venture into these ruins and how many more surprises would be in store. I was just arriving at the bottom of a set of stairs when someone called out for me.

"Hold on, my boy! Hold on!"

Turning I saw Tolfdir running towards me. Once he'd caught up he stopped to catch his breath.

"I thought it high time I caught up with you" he said.

The old man seemed no worse for wear, yet I was concerned for his well-being. I'd become rather found of Tolfdir, he was a good teacher and he cared for his students.

"Did you make it through alright, sir?" I asked.

There might have been a small chance I'd missed some draugr on the way here. I'd bashed them around plenty, but with the undead you couldn't always be sure you'd put them out of action.

"Yes, it was all quiet" he told me "You really are a skilled mage if you made it through all that".

In truth I'd not used much magic. There wasn't really any need to since I could throw people and things around with the power of my mind.

"Thank you" I said "Shall we press on?"

He nodded and we walked into the next corridor. A pressure plate, that I thankfully spotted, was at the entrance of a room which we could access through a set of iron doors. Proceeding with caution, we descended the stairs and we found the Eye of Magnus.

"Well now... would you look at that" Tolfdir said.

We'd emerged into a room with a grand and very high-ceiling. But what got our attention wasn't the size of the place, rather our attentions were drawn to what was in the room, and how could they not be.

There was a formation of four tall pillars. These were engulfed in a flowing field of teal energy, like a tornado of some sort. At the centre of this was a gigantic, floating orb, glowing with the same energy and decorated with strange symbols. I could feel the power radiating off it.

"I never imagined we'd find something like this," my teacher said with awe and fascination in this voice. "Why is this buried so far within Saarthal?"

While keeping our eyes fixed on the orb, we headed down the wooden ramp towards it. We were so transfixed by this awesome sight that we almost didn't see a body propped in the throne at the head of the table. Thankfully we both noticed the movement of the undead and the sound of a sword being drawn from it's sheath.

"Draugr!" the old wizard called out in warning.

In short order I sent three firebolts at it. Two of them hit it, and they had absolutely no effect. I tried again, watching as the fireballs hit the moster and exploded on impact but they did nothing.

The elderly wizard sent a stream of sparks, but they didn't work either. They crackled all over his body and did nothing to him. This thing was immune to our magical attacks.

It turned to me and sent a shard of ice flying from his hand at my head. I raised a ward in order to protect myself.

"Keep it busy, I'll try to drain some of it's power!" my fellow mage called out.

I'd have to keep it's attention on me so Tolfdir could work his magic. Literally.

Thankfully this wasn't hard to do as the powerful undead thing wasn't very fast or agile, so I kept tripping it up with my mind powers, if it had been a living thing you'd think it was drunk. While I was doing that my teacher was working his mojo.

Of course I could have used my mind powers to smack the undead monster around the room, or cut him to pieces with my lightsaber, but I couldn't do that without Tolfdir seeing what I could do.

"There! Attack it now!" the old wizard shouted.

I wasted no time at all. I hit it with a volley of firebolts.

Now there was an effect, the fire flickering on it's body as they exploded on impact. I even managed to knock his sword out of his hand. Soon, it was down on it's knees, overpowered by the flames.

While it was distracted by the whole being on fire thing I took out Cailburn, strode up to it and drove the blade through it's chest. It gargled, gave a death rattle and slumped to the ground, lifeless, well more lifeless.

I found two other items of interest on the draugr's body. One was what looked like a piece of a magical amulet, part of a set if I remembered correctly. The other was a writ of sealing, a piece of parchment placed with the body to keep it from walking about or leaving the tomb if it did.

It read:

_Be bound here, Jyrik, murderer, betrayer_

_Condemned by your crimes against realm and lord._

_May your name and your deeds be forgotten forever_

_And the charm which you bear be sealed by our ward._

Interesting. This guy must have done something pretty bad to be buried all the way down here. It had something to with the Gaulder legend if I recalled correctly. I'd already acquired the another part of the amulet while going after an enchanted weapons.

Long ago, the Archmage Gauldur was murdered by his three sons, who stole his amulet of power and divided it among themselves. When the three sons divided the amulet amongst themselves, they immediately began a rampage around Skyrim. This attracted the attention of the High King Harald of Skyrim, he sent his best warriors and his personal battlemage, a man called Lord Geirmund after the sons.

A great chase ensued, from the wilds of the Reach to the glacial north. One brother is said to have perished in the ruins of Folgunthur, at the Foot of Solitude. The others were run to ground soon thereafter. And once it was done, King Harald ordered every record of their murders destroyed, and Gauldur's name and deeds were struck from the rolls of history.

Although he'd not done this very well as I'd been able to piece things together and acquire the bow from Sigdis Gauldurson, and his part of the amulet. I'd meant to go after Mikrul Gauldurson who was equipped with the Gauldur Blackblade, which was a one handed sword with an Absorb Health enchantment on it. He also had part of the amulet, the last part.

Soon I would have to venture to Folgunthur another Nord ruin, and then to a Reachwater Rock, a cave hidden underneath one of the waterfalls running into Karth River, southeast of Markarth, in order to put the parts of the amulet back together so that I could wear it myself, but that could wait until I was done here.

"Well, this is absolutely fascinating," Tolfdir was saying "This is amazing, absolutely amazing. The Arch-Mage needs to be informed of this at once. He needs to see this for himself. I don't dare leave this unattended..."

Perhaps it would be better to bury the Eye even if that meant killing the old mage with it, but there was no need for such extreme methods. I would know if the Eye was going to go boom thanks to my Judgement Day Perk, and Morgana had a copy of the Staff of Magnus so we could defuse the bomb whenever we wished, so to speak.

"I'll head back and inform the Arch-Mage of this discovery" I offered.

Tolfdir nodded.

"Good lad," he praised, "please hurry!"

With that, I made for a door just behind the artefact and quickly made my way out of this place.

(Line Break)

**Folgunthur. Skyrim.**

Not long after informing the Arch-mage of the discovery I'd decided to slip out, taking Cameron with me so that I could complete the Gaulder Amulet quest. I'd sent Morgana a message, letting her know that I wanted her to keep watch on the Eye of Magnus while I was gone.**  
**

I wouldn't be gone for long as I could drive about at high speeds, and it would take the Arch-Mage and his fellow staff members at the College, at least a few hours to move the Orb back to Winterhold.

"Any Draugrs in here?" Cameron asked as we entered the dangerous ruin.

I knew for certain there would be, but since I had never entered this place in real life I couldn't be totally sure.

"Probably," I replied. "Just be on the lookout".

As we continued forward, we soon found a sight that would give most people nightmares for weeks to come. There was blood all over the floor and a few dead bodies lying about. The smell was just terrible.

They weren't equipped right to be adventures, they looked more like a group of miners, some sort of treasure hunting expedition I assumed.

"Watch for traps" I said.

We came across into a very large chamber but before we could move through it, we saw the coffins along the walls begin to break open. Several Draugrs emerged and we quickly sprang into action.

As two Draugrs ran straight towards us, I attacked them with lightning and firebolts, while Cameron simply vaporised the other two. Magic was cool and all, but it would save me time if I used an energy weapon.

Beyond the next door there was a spiral staircase then we found a rickety wooden bridge leading to a platform, which was just above the large chamber we'd gotten ambushed in only moments ago. As we crossed the bridge to the other side, we noticed even more blood stains on the platform.

The body of a Dunmer mage lay dead on the platform, and he was covered in more of the red stuff. Right next to him lay a journal, and a large claw that was made out of ivory. I also noticed a small pedestal with an engraving of some sort on it. It sort of resembled the shape of the claw.

I knew exactly what to do here, but I didn't rush things. Instead I picked up the journal from the floor and started reading it. There was never any harm in having a bit more knowledge about the places you were exploring.

"What does it say?" Cameron asked me after several seconds had passed.

Then I read it again only out loud, it told me nothing that I didn't already know, due to playing the game, but I placed the journal in my pouch of holding in any case. One day I'd get a library addon to the Warehouse I was sure, and it would need filling.

I picked the ivory claw up from the floor and Cameron watched curiously as I placed the claw onto the pedestal. It clicked into place and I turned the claw key. Then we heard a rumbling as things began to move. Soon we had a path that would allow to move onwards.

As we moved deeper into the ruin we established a comfortable rhythm of attacking our foes. They would appear and one of us would vaporise them, the only downside to this was that we couldn't loot the bodies, not that I really wanted to.

Then finally we came upon a door. It had an engraving similar to the one on the pedestal that I had used the ivory claw to open. Above the slot were three discs, each with an engraving of a different animal on it. I proceeded to stick the ivory claw into the slot.

As in the game I rotated the lock until the animals matched the ones on the claw and then I pushed the claw and the door began to unlock.

Soon enough we found ourselves in a gigantic crypt. It was too dark to see much but it felt creepy enough to be the right place.

"I think this is it" I said "The room where one of Gauldur's sons is buried"

Just then, as if in response my statement, there was the sound of stones breaking. I watched as the lid broke off a stone coffin and a Draugr climbed out of it.

"Wo alok dilon" the Undead thing spoke "Fen dir!"

That didn't need translating as the undead thing raised up his sword and charged towards us.

"Don't vaporise that one!" I shouted.

That was when other Draugrs broke out of the coffins along the walls and joined the fray. They didn't last long either as I was able to use my near-ascended powers to deal with the the boss undead while Cameron vaporised the others. Having energy weapons in a fantasy setting really made things unfair for the locals.

Once the fighting was done I took the scroll that was resting on top of the alter, unrolled it and read it out loud.

_"Be bound here, Mikrul, murderer, betrayer. Condemned by your crimes against realm and lord. May your name and your deeds be forgotten forever. And the charm which you bear be sealed by our ward"_

After that I recovered both The Gauldur Blackblade and the last part of the amulet.

"Now we need to repair this" I said to Cameron "And I know exactly where we need to go to do that".

This adventure should be over in a matter of hours.


	6. Chapter 6

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold**

**Part 6**

**Reachwater Rock. Skyrim.**

Once my Terminator and I were inside the cave we followed a dirt path that led us up to a natural platform which was above the pool of water at the centre of the cave. Upon this platform was a tablet, and upon that tablet was written a warning, a message telling me not to enter the tomb and that its occupants should rest in peace.

As if to reinforce this idea that it was best to leave this place as quickly as possible, we found body of a dead adventurer. He was dressed in iron armour and was gripping one of those fancy dragon claw keys in his cold, dead hand.

Quickly Cameron moved to take the claw, knowing now its value both as an artefact and as a key. After she had taken the key we approached the great stone door that stood atop the ramp. I could feel something now, with my supernatural senses, but I wasn't sure what to make of it.

Cameron rotated the symbols so that they matched those on the palm of the claw, having seen me done this before, pressed it into the holes for the claws and turned the lock with a grinding of stone.

A cloud of dust escaped through the cracks as the door descended, revealing the opening. We proceeded slowly forward as other doors along the way descended one at a time, one after the other with the same echoing grinding of stone.

Once we got past the stone doors we entered a large room, it was grand, almost like the hall of a great king. However I knew it to be the final resting place of good mage who had lost his life due to betrayal by his own flesh and blood.

Great columns lined the room on either side, now cracked with age and lined with roots and moss, much like the walls that encircled it. The stairs led down to a space which was filled with many different stone coffins. At the end was another coffin, and an alter of some sort with three parts. One for each piece of the amulet, like this had all been expected.

"Come on, let's reform this amulet and get out of here" I said to Cameron.

Gently, I put the first fragment on a panel and it began to glow in a golden light, when I placed the next fragment on the second plinth, it got the same reaction. The final one had the same effect, only this time accompanied with a sudden, foreboding rumbling in the walls, enough to make me wonder if an Earthquake was about to seal us in this tomb.

However that wasn't what happened. Instead some spirits appeared, the spirits of the mage's sons, and they hovering before the coffin of their father. Mirkul, Sigdis and Jyrick. While I'd defeated them before that didn't mean that they were no threat to us now.

This was confirmed when one stood forward, drew his sword and vanished in a flash of purple light. As he reappeared on the other side of the room, I heard the sounds of coffin lids being kicked open and slamming to the floor. The draugr within them stepped out, drawing bows, clutching axes and swords, getting ready to attack.

Soon were fighting for our lives, or at least we fighting to keep Jump Chain going, and even that was in doubt as I didn't even know if these spirits could actually kill me. Although if they chopped my head of that would be the end of my adventures in Skyrim I felt sure of that.

Once the first son had been defeated for the second time I turned to see that he had returned to the altar, now kneeling in a position of surrender beside the spirits of his brothers. The remaining thralls, who were still standing, now keeled over and became lifeless corpses once more, the influence of their master gone.

"One down, two to go" I muttered.

The next brother laughed, and it was a dead, hollow sound, which he made before he vanished in the same flash of light.

"This might take a while" I moaned.

Hopefully not too long. I had other things I needed to do today.

(Line Break)

**Reachwater Rock. Skyrim.**

I felt a great deal of satisfaction at finally finishing the quest to gather the parts and then to repair the Gaulder amulet. It didn't just come from the completed amulet itself, it had to with feeling that I had righted a great wrong.

It was over now, the three sons were gone, their vengeful spirits were banished for good and their father could get some well-earned rest. At least that was the sense I'd gotten once I'd gotten the amulet restored.

"It's beautiful" Cameron stated.

I turned back to the altar, staring into the light that shone from it. Suspended in the golden light, fully completed and whole for the first time in many, many years, was the amulet of Gaulder, the one that had given him his unique powers and that his sons had so lusted after. They had used the pieces of the amulet to spread havoc and destruction across Skyrim before they were stopped. Now, it was time to use it for better purposes.

While taking the amulet I decided that I would wear it when suitable. I liked my adder stone, and wearing more than one enchanted amulet might have unforeseen consequences. Still I was sure that I would need it in the future and until then it would be safely stored in my Cosmic Warehouse.

"Let's get back to the College" I said to Cameron.

I'd really had enough of old tombs.

(Line Break)

**College of Winterhold. Skyrim.**

"Back again huh?" Urag gro-Shub said to me rather gruffly "What do you need now?"

I met his gaze as best I could, which he seemed to respect.

"We found something in Saarthal and I need to learn more about it," I replied.

The Orc wasn't surprised by this news.

"I know what you need," he said "Word travels fast around here. Discovered some big mystery, huh? Well, you don't even need to ask. I think I have what you're looking for right here"

He stood up from his desk and crossed over to one of the large book cases that encircled the Arcaeneum, heaving it open and scrolling down the masses of volumes that it contained.

While I hadn't really been able to provide the archmage with a good description of the mystery orb, because I didn't really have the right words for it, I hadn't needed to as he had left for Saarthal to go and see for himself.

Before he did, he instructed me to go and do some research on the subject. So once I had secured the amulet, which hadn't taken long since I could drive around at high speeds, I'd gone to the Arcaeneum with hopes that Urag had something useful in his library

I was certainly relieved to discover that he did have something for me on the orb. I Imagine that if he'd hadn't, that I'd have to go halfway across Skyrim to find someone who did and probably fight through a group of dodgy mages or something. That would have been very annoying. I'd had enough of tombs for this Jump.

"Here we are," the Orc said, thrusting a large volume into my hand. "You're lucky. This was one to the books we had you bring back. If Aren hadn't sent you apprentices to fetch it I'd have to send you for it".

I remembered the warning he first gave to me, about being torn apart by angry Atronachs if I ever disrupted the peace of the library and knew he was being deadly serious, so I took the book to a nearby corner table and began to read, quietly.

"You there. I have questions for you" someone said.

I looked up to see Ancano the Thalmor.

"You were in Saarthal, yes?" he asked, getting straight to the point. "It has come to my attention that something was found there."

As he said this, I saw something in him that let me know that he would indeed mess around with the Eye of Magnus in an attempt to gain power.

"We found many things" I said.

I no desire to talk to this elf or to be helpful towards him.

"Don't play the fool with me, I know you found something of significant importance" the Nazis elf said "Tolfdir is still there, isn't he? I shall expect a full report when he returns".

With that High Elf walked off, and I went back to my reading. It took some time, but I managed to figure out a few things. It turns out that the Eye of Magnus was somewhat known about.

_Saarthal holds a prominent place in Skyrim history, even if most do not remember it by name. It is of course the site of one of the first major Nordsettlements, one of the first cities of men in Skyrim, and the earliest known capital of their civilization. It was also the site of terrible bloodshed, when the elves attempted to drive the Nords out of Skyrim, to succeed only in incurring their wrath in the form of Ysgramor and his fabled Five Hundred Companions, who swept the elves from Skyrim and firmly established it as the home of the Nords._

_All this is known, but little else. What happened on that Night of Tears, when Saarthal was razed to the ground? What provoked the elves to such a deliberate, vicious attack, and what prompted such a severe response from the Nords?_

_Vingalmo's Treatise on the Altmer Antecedent suggests that the elves of the Merethic Era, along with their counterparts the early Dwemer, possessed a degree of sophistication unparalleled in Tamriel. They displayed power beyond what could be expected of the time. While a distinct explanation is not given for this, I believe that this work, compared with the early writings of Heseph Chirirnis, suggest that something greater was at work on that night in Saarthal._

_The true motives behind the Night of Tears have been obscured to us by the passage of time, but I believe this was not a simple war of territory, or of control of Skyrim. I believe that what happened was a significant event based around something very particular._

_The Nords found something when they built their city, buried deep in the ground. They attempted to keep it buried, but the elves learned of it and coveted it for themselves. Thus they assaulted Saarthal, their goal not to drive the Nords out but to secure this power for themselves. I believe Ysgramor knew something of what the elves would find under Saarthal, and rallied together his people to keep the elves from gaining it. When Nords once again controlled Skyrim, this power was buried deep below the earth and sealed away._

_Time has kept this knowledge from us, but it is my hope that Time will also reveal the truth of these words. Every effort will be made to relocate Saarthal, and find that which has been lost to us._

"So the Night of Tears wasn't just a territorial dispute between races" I said to myself "The elves knew about what was uncovered in Saarthal long ago, and the Nords were just unfortunate enough to be in their way".

This was a little worrying because if the Eye of Magnus had been fought over before then it was dangerous in ways that had nothing to do with it exploding. Groups like the Thalmor would move to take the orb for themselves. I should warn the Arch-Mage about this.

(Line Break)

**College of Winterhold. Skyrim.**

"It took us a while to move the Eye of Magnus into the Hall of Elements" the dark elf told me after my meeting with the Arch-Mage "Everyone helped".

Well not me as I'd been elsewhere.

"It's incredible! I've never seen anything like it before" she said to me "Who knows what we could learn from it! All thanks to you".

Finding it had been fate or something like that.

"Tolfdir helped too and I just found it by... accident" I said,

I didn't normally lie, but in this case I needed to. To be fair to me it would be hard to explain how I'd know that the Eye of Magnus was down there.

"Don't be so modest," she said, "you found something beyond extraordinary and you deserve the credit. You should be proud of yourself".

In my experience pride was dangerous if you had too much of it. Pride was the most deadly of sins, and for good reasons.

"It's fine to feel good about yourself, but not to be too arrogant" I said "I see people who brag about their great deeds as nothing more than vapid attention seeks. I prefer to be modest".

While I knew why I work to suppress my pride, how I remained as humble as I did considering what I'd done was a mystery to even myself.

"Besides if you hide how good you really are then people will underestimate you" I was now saying "And that can be very useful".

It had proven to be true for me.

"That makes sense, I guess," Brelyna agreed. "For me, it was the opposite while growing up. My parents were always telling how great I ought to be, like 'those who came before me.' I didn't care about what they did. I wanted them to see me for what I could do. But they never could".

Childhoods really screwed people up. No wonder I wanted to avoid becoming a Hogwarts student. Hopefully Morgana would have enough of magical education while in this place and would want to go somewhere else. Then again maybe not, she could be very stubborn about things, and it was hard to get her to change her mind once she'd decided to do something.

"Does... that make sense?" I was asked.

I went back over the conversation I'd just been having as my mind had wandered. It did that often, and while normally I was able to keep track of what was going on even while deep in thought that didn't always work.

"Of course it does," I said with a nod.

The Dark Elf carried on talking. Clearly I'd become a platonic friend of hers, which made me decide not to ask Morgana for a threesome with the Dunmer.

"Because of my upbringing, I didn't know very many people other than members of my family" I was told "You're the first real friend that I've had. I'm glad you came here".

I smiled back at her, and my smile faded when I heard Morgana call out for my help telepathically. I had the horrible feeling that she wanted to go and do something very stupid.

(Line Break)

**The College of Winterhold. Skyrim.**

After quickly informing the Arch-Mage of what I'd found I made my way to the Midden.

"Morgana and I are going down into the Midden" I said to the cat man, who ran into me on the way "Just the two of us"

She wanted to show me something she'd found while sneaking around down there, and while I was normally happy to let her study on her own I had the gut feeling that I should help her this time. She had after all asked for my aid, so it wasn't as if I'd be interfering with her studies.

"If you are heading into the Midden, J'zargo has a request for you," the Khajiit said, while rummaging through his robes. "J'zargo has been researching a new spell that is to be extremely effective against the undead, but J'zargo would like to have it tested. Would you do this for J'zargo?"

This was the land of Skyrim, you couldn't step more than five feet into any old underground tunnel without stumbling over a bunch of shambling corpses so finding some undead wouldn't be an issue.

"Yes, fine whatever" I said.

I took the offered scrolls and got on my way. Morgana had been waiting for me for some time I didn't want her thinking that I had abandoned her. I tended to care a little too much about how she felt towards me.

"Finally," she said while unfolding her arms.

By the looks of things having to wait had annoyed her, not that this was my fault.

"I got held up by J'zargo" I explained

She accepted this and began to lower herself down a ladder that disappeared beneath the trap door. I reached out with my senses and waited until she was a short distance from the ladder before I jumped down. With the Force as my ally I was able to land without any trouble.

Not long after my feet touched down on cold, hard ground, I turned around and began to walk down the tunnel.

It soon became very dark so I made a shining orb of light spring into existence and Morgana soon made one of her own. We'd both learned this spell despite having other means to see in the dark just in case we were ever separated from our equipment while doing something like this.

Ahead of us the tunnel opened up into a wide cavern, which was caked in snow. I also saw that a narrow and very old looking stone bridge spanned across it, with a ancient Nordic door on the other side. Shambling about on the bridge with a crude blade clutched in one hand was an animated skeleton. It had not appeared to have notice us.

I pulled out J'zargo's spell scroll. Looking over it for the first time, it appeared to be a touch spell, which meant that I just had to cast it on myself and then go near the undead thing.

_"Stay here"_ I telepathically commanded Morgana.

I placed the spell on myself, strolled forward onto the bridge and got the attention of the skeleton.

"Hello dead person" I said.

The skeleton didn't really say anything, it just made a sort of groaning noise and lifted its sword. Once it close enough the spell exploded and I ended up flat on my ass.

"J'zargo!" I shouted out

I was sure that the spell didn't do this in the game, and I hadn't sensed any danger when casting the spell. I would have to make sure that the cat guy understood that his spell simply didn't work.

"I'm fine" I said to Morgana.

She help me up and I quickly healed what little damage I'd taken. Thankfully my habit of wearing kull warrior fabric under my clothing and having a durable body had paid off.

"We're almost there" Morgana told me.

Soon we entered another chamber, and it the middle of this underground space was a dark and twisted hand that was reaching out of the floor, or so it seemed. Once I made some more light I found that it was in was in fact a gauntlet which had been placed atop a pedestal.

The demonic gauntlet, it look down right hellish in my opinion, was black and red, with sharp claws instead of fingers. The room was otherwise empty except for a table.

"I found this in here" Morgana told me.

She passed me a piece of paper, which I read.

_"The missing students were found in the Midden this morning. Dead, as expected. None of us bothered keeping a detect life charm going for the search at this point._

_The bodies were found together, each suffering the same deformities; peeled and bubbling skin on the arms and face. Conjurer's burn, as it's commonly referred to around the College. There's little doubt they were attempting a summoning ritual well beyond their capabilities._

_The relic nearby put any doubt in this theory to rest. I admit that I've never seen one like it - a large, segmented sculpture of a gauntlet, the Daedric sigil 'O' emblazoned upon the palm. Attempts to move it were in vain. I must show it to Archmage Sedoth during his upcoming visit. Perhaps he will know more._

_While we couldn't move the relic, I was able to pry four "rings" from it. I'm sure there's a connection between them and the ritual the students were attempting._

_I'll store these in the Arcanaeum until we can consult with a conjuration master to learn more._

Once I'd read the note I glanced up at the gauntlet once more. Then I saw reach into her robes and pull out a pouch, one that I was pretty sure she had stolen from the Arcanaeum. She upended it into her open left palm, and I saw four rings.

"So what happens if I put the rings on the gauntlet?" she asked.

I searched my memory.

"If you do it right you summon a daedra pirate that is bound to the gauntlet" I told her "In the game you can kill him or set him free in exchange for some treasure he's got hidden away. He'll give you a map".

Setting a demon like creature lose on the world wasn't the most moral of acts, but I found that I didn't really care what she decided to do as long as she didn't get hurt. It wasn't as if I'd never summoned a deadra for my own purposes.

I was giving real thought to summoning up a Dark Seducer just to see if they really did like pain. Not because I wanted to torture anyone, I just wanted to fuck another exotic female and if pain got her going well that was okay with me.

Clearly my mortality had gotten a bit warped along the way. No doubt this had something to do with my trip to the Soul Carin, and I had to wonder if starting a new Jump would fix this problem or if I was going to find that I simply wasn't as good of a person as I used to be.

I watched as Morgana carefully placed the first and second ring on the gauntlet, it wasn't hard to figure out the right order. Then on went the third ring, and finally she put the last ring onto the gauntlet. The fingers curled in on themselves, turning the open palm into a closed fist. Which I had to admit, if only to myself, that it was a bit disconcerting.

Then the air around us warped, and it felt as if space itself was being displaced. Suddenly, where no one had been standing previously, now a male figure was standing. He looked as if he may have been a living humanoid, once; perhaps a Dunmer, to judge by his complexion, or a Redguard, to go by his clothing.

Only he wasn't either of those things, this was a Daedra, a Dremoa to be precise. Dremora were humanoid Daedra normally aligned with the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon, often very intelligent, and generally hostile towards mortals.

"Aaaahhhh," the creature said "Once more I find myself in this accursed room, accosted by two young fools. It seems every few decades a few troublesome youth just have to come wrench me back to the mortal plane for some fool reason or other. It does not, generally, end well for them".

I prepared myself to destroy this creature, as much as one could kill a Daedra. I could use Cailburn, but if I reached for the weapon the demon like creature would react and perhaps harm one of us before I could slay it. Therefore it would be better to use my near-ascended powers, which only required me to focus correctly.

"Yet I grow bored of only getting to kill an ever sparser amount of people, and I long for a change in scenery," the entity went on to say "So perhaps, instead of flaying the flesh from your bones, I will offer you a bargain, that would enable you to survive an encounter with Velehk Sain, dreaded pirate king of the Abacean. A rare occasion indeed".

Morgana looked at me.

"This your adventure" I told her.

The Seer turned to face the creature.

"What are your terms?" she asked.

I wasn't that worried about Morgana as if she did somehow die she'd respawn within the Cosmic Warehouse, and anything less than death I could heal, in fact I had healed death, but that only worked in the soul hadn't moved on and the body needed to be mostly intact.

"You release me from the bind that holds me here, and in exchange, I'll let you in on some of the great material wealth I accrued in life" said the Dremoa "Is this an acceptable deal?"

A sneer curled up on the lips of the creature. I got the impression that he didn't much like making deals with mortals, or maybe he just didn't want to part with his treasure. Not that it really mattered as this creature had no other choice but to make a proper deal.

"How do I release you?" Morgana asked,

If the demon like creature didn't disappear after becoming free I'd get to hurt it. The Deadra had no idea that we were more than the two young mages we appeared to be.

"It is, in fact, extremely simple," Sain said. "All I require is for a mortal, that's you, to say, 'Velehk Sain, I release you' Can you do that?".

I was surprised that Morgana was even considering letting a demonic mass murderer back into the world. I was also surprised that I was just standing here and allowing it to happen. Normally I was more careful than this, but I simply didn't feel motivated to prevent this from happening. I didn't care.

"Velehk Sain. I release you" she said.

Sain stepped forward. He lifted his arms, and looked at them in wonder. In a flash, his scimitars were in his hands, and he was swinging them through the air with glee. I felt for sure he was going to renege on the agreement, but then Sain sheathed both blades, and smiled. He lifted his hand, and pointed a finger towards the table in the room, where a sheet of paper appeared.

"A map to my treasure," he said. "I hope it was worth it".

And then he was gone, as if he had never been here at all.

"Hopefully he won't cause too much trouble" Morgana said.

Well she'd not brought around the end of the world I could sense that.

(Line Break)

**Ragnvald. Skyrim**

Rather than head back to the College after acquiring Morgana's treasure, which she was very happy to have even if most of it was worthless to someone with replicators, we stopped off a place called Ragnvald.

Coming here was a major detour, but I wanted Morgana to have a Dragon Priest Mask of her own and I didn't need Forestwind to guide me to this place. My Bosmer had been gone for sometime, but she was searching Skyrim for rare alchemy stuff while on foot while staying at Castle Dawnguard so it was unlikely that she make to the College before we were done there.

Once Morgana and I got out of the Mako we headed for the entrance, and went inside. Just above the door, I saw the name of this place: Ragnvald, just as I expected.

Inside we came upon an embalming room, but it seemed silent for now, we weren't attacked by anything living or dead. Before long we continued into a narrow tunnel, which was filled with dragur, however these ones didn't move.

Soon we arrived in what I would call a grand burial chamber. In the centre of this massive room, a sarcophagus rested, and it appeared to be sealed. I cautiously stepped closer and read the inscription..

_"Here lies Otar, Zealot Priest of the Dragon Cult. May his madness never infect the minds of others"_ I said "Well, at least we know now we're in the right place".

I tried to open the stone coffin with my powers only it didn't budge and I didn't want to blast it open as that might damage the mask that I'd come here to get.

"What's the plan?" asked Morgana

I thought it over quickly.

"We'll need to look around" I said, "If we can find the keys to open this, then we can take his mask".

We continued looking around, and found we had two ways to go: into the crypts, or into the waterways. We headed for the Crypts first. In the first chamber, the tomb's first guardians awoke to try and stop us. We fought our way past them, using our powers, and then continued into the burial passages.

Eventually, we reached a different area: this one appeared to be an altar where offerings could be left, however none of it interested us so we kept going.

We moved on to the next room, which was home to more dragur, as well as another ornate sarcophagus. We took out the dragur, and then I took note of the pedestal in the centre of the room, which held an odd looking artefact. It appeared to be an ornately decorated skull,and was the same shape as one of the depressions of Otar's sarcophagus.

I had a good idea of what would happen if I grabbed it, but in was unavoidable. As soon as I collected the skull, this chamber's sarcophagus burst open, and a powerful-looking dragur emerged.

Of course it immediately went on the attack, not this really mattered as with the speed granted to me by the Force I was able to cut the undead thing into a few pieces with my lightsaber.

After this, we headed through the nearby door, which returned us to the main chamber of Otar's tomb. But since we need two keys, we continued on our way, and before long we entered the canal level.

We were immediately faced with the canals. We followed the waterway around, and arrived at a level to the southeast of the area. The lowered a drawbridge, which we made our way around to said bridge.

Next we crossed it, and arrived at a iron door. Just before I opened the door, I spotted the tripwire. I carefully disarmed the trap, and we continued forwards. We continued through the network of small chambers, and arrived at a familiar area: a two story burial vault, home to an ornate sarcophagus, and skull-shaped artefact sitting on a pedestal.

_'__Here we go again,'_ I thought.

We fought off the dragur that emerged as we advanced, and once the area was clear I approached the skull, and collected it. As before, the sarcophagus burst open, revealing another powerful dragur.

Which again didn't take long to defeat. Fighting the bad guys of this world was getting easier and easier as time went by. I didn't know why, perhaps I'd just needed to adjust.

Once we arrived back in Otar's chamber, I approached his sarcophagus once more, and placed both skulls into their slots. As the lid slid open, I took a step back and watched as Otar rose from his slumber. As he finished emerging, Otar looked around, and then locked the eyeholes of his mask on me.

I lashed out with the Force driving Otar into the wall just as Morgana brought up a magical ward that she wouldn't need. I then took out my particle magnum and blasted the undead dead thing into dust, making sure not to shoot it in the head.

"This is getting a little too easy" I complained.

I quickly took the staff and the mask from Otar, and then gave them both to Morgana. She didn't try the mask on, possibly for hygiene reasons.

"Are we going back to the College" she asked.

I nodded.

"Yes we can't be away too long" I said "Not with the Eye of Magnus there".

It was one thing to unleash a demon pirate upon the world I wasn't going to let to explode. My mortality was flexible, but it did exist.


	7. Chapter 7

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold **

**Part 7**

**Ayleid Ruins. Cyrodiil**

On the outside of the ruin were arches that stood partially covered by earth, plants of different sorts, and insects. Small pieces of rubble were strewn about in the area above the door, but other than that there were no signs that this had once been a centre of civilisation back when the elves had ruled these lands.

The Ayleids, also known as the Heartland High Elves or Wild Elves, were the first race to establish an empire here in Tamriel, and had ruled modern-day Cyrodiil for countless years dating back to before recorded history.

Also the Ayleids were the original founders of what was now known as the Imperial City, which they called the "Temple of the Ancestors". However, their empire collapsed in the early First Era.

These Ayleid Ruins, more commonly known as Elven Ruins, were ancient structures built by an ancient race of Elves known as the Ayleids. Besides the usual enemies that inhabit such places, these ruins usually contained Ayleid casks and reliquaries, some secret passages, and of course the magical stones that I'd come all this way south to find.

Ayleid Ruins also contained a variety of lethal traps such as swinging blades in hallways, spiked grates that slide down corridors, poison gas chambers, Dark Welkynd Stones that fire bolts of frost, spike pits and areas where the floor crushes passersby against a spiked ceiling.

While the Ayleids had been extinct for a very, very long time, their ancient traps were still fully functional, at least according to the locals I'd questioned about this place, and they'd not been willing to talk much about it until I bribed them.

This ruin had some name that I didn't even try to pronounce, and I'd been assured that unlike the others it hadn't been totally picked clean even in the thousands of years it had been abandoned. I'd soon find out if that was true.

"Let's head in then," I said.

While I'd been to a few underground places while in Skyrim I still found myself amazed by these sorts of places. I was already glad that I'd taken the time to send my probes far enough south to find an Ayleid ruin to explore.

Getting here hadn't been too much trouble, not when I had probes for scouting and Asgard beaming technology. I could have driven the Mako here, but given the sheer distance and the mountains it would have taken too long. I couldn't afford to be gone from the college for more than a couple of days.

Right away I noticed the difference of architecture between the Ayleids, and the Dwemer, whose underground citadels had also been long abandoned.

While Dwemer ruins were sharp and angular with their stonework, the Ayleids had a softer touch to the eye. Smooth, white walls lined the interior hall. My nightvision sunglasses allowed me to see the ruins in great detail.

"It's a beautiful piece of architecture," Morgana commented, after putting on her own pair of night vision sunglasses.

We'd both noticed that right away.

"Indeed it is" I agreed.

Cameron, who was taking the lead in this little expedition, started walking down a winding hallway. Morgana and I followed suit, and I was glad to have my Terminator here as while I could protect myself I was rather distracted right now and as such my guard was down.

This didn't mean that I was undefended. I was wearing a full suit of armour, the kind my group had created by modifying Vanir environmental suits back in the Stargate verse. I was also protected by a kinetic barrier, and the shield created by life support belts, the tech for this came from the Star Trek verse.

In my hands I held a disruptor rifle that would vaporise any enemy that dared to threaten me, using such weapons did make it impossible to loot the bodies of our foes, but given how many monsters and hostile aliens across the multi-verse had regenerative abilities it was highly useful to be able to destroy them so utterly.

Morgana and Cameron also wore full sets of armour, and carried weapons. We were taking no chances while exploring this ancient place.

As we began looking around I saw that on the floor near the wall was a small, hexagonal casket of some sort. Cameron pried it open, alas inside the container was nothing; whoever had travelled through here prior to our arrival had already pilfered its contents. Hopefully we would treasure deeper within the ruins.

"What a shame," I commented.

The noise of Cameron breaking open the elf version of a treasure chest, had gotten the attention of a handful of giant rats. The squeaky beasts didn't do well against us as while they were fast they didn't have the speed to defeat our reflexes. All of the vermin were destroyed in short order.

Moving on we found that on left side of the hall there was a passageway and around a corner there was a tombstone shaped gate. The three of us continued beyond the gate and entered another part of this ruin.

We triggered a trap which filled the air with some sort of gas. The gas was a poisonous concoction of unknown make, according to the scans of my omni-tool, but since Morgana and I had on our helmets, and because Cameron didn't breather, the gas did little more than obscure our vision.

Going beyond the gas chamber led us to a wall that seemed like a dead end only I'd raided enough of these ruins while playing Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, to know that elf ruins were full of secret passages.

It didn't take me long to locate a pressure plate and when I pushed down on it with my foot a trio of stone pillars slowly slid into the ground, thus revealing an opening through the wall and into another room..

Inside this new room was a stone platform. I didn't know the purpose of this place and frankly I didn't care. What I did care about was the pedestal in the centre of the room. Atop it, was a varla stone; it was a gorgeous, glowing crystal.

"Oh that is pretty" Morgana stated.

She sounded not unlike a little girl in a dress shop.

"They function to replenish a weapon's enchantment" I explained "But I theorise that they were used by the ancient elves as light sources, like lightbulbs only they are treated with much more respect as the ancient elves revered light".

Morgana didn't care about that.

"I want it" she said.

She was a sophisticated and intelligent woman for sure, but like so many of her gender she had a weakness for pretty things.

"I need this one" I told her "For my studies, so we'll have to keep looking for more".

After recovering the stone, which I did with my telekinetic powers in case it was booby trapped, we moved on.

Before much longer, we came upon a tombstone shaped door, only this one was depicting a glowing tree.

"This is a strange door" Cameron commented.

I was sure that the glowing tree was important I just didn't know why.

"Gothic something's bothering me" Morgana said as we stopped before the door "I thought there would be more…well more objects. Those dwemer people left behind a lot of their stuff, but I don't see any of that here".

The ruin was lacking in anything other bare walls for the most part, and this was disappointing as I had hoped to have some eleven artefacts stored in my Cosmic Warehouse along with the dwarven stuff.

"Well the ancient elves vanished further back in time than the dwarves so I guess the dwarven strongholds just haven't all been picked clean by now" I guessed.

Certainly I could be wrong, there was still much about this world that I didn't understand, and I doubted that I ever would understand it all.

"I'm surprised there are no monsters lurking about in here" Cameron said.

Yes that was odd. Aside from that pack of oversized rats we'd encountered no signs of life while down here.

"Some of the locals told me the dead roam the halls of Ayleid Ruins" I warned "Kind of like the draugr".

Not that it matter since all the undead would vaporise when I shot them.

"What do you think we'll find behind this door" Morgana wondered.

I really didn't know.

"Let's go see" I said.

A trip down flights of stairs that were behind the tree door brought us to an area full of welkynd stones. Each was on a high pedestal, just as I'd known they would be. xx

"What are these gems?" Morgana asked of me.

"These are welkynd stones, they're like the varla stones only they recharge a person's magical energies rather then enchanted items" I explained "Like I theorised they are mostly used by the ancient elves as light fixtures"

After collecting a few of the stones, I gave one to Morgana and another to Cameron, which she might decide to study inside of performing any more autopsies, we came across a treasure chest.

Cameron opened it, and inside she found a rotted, coin purse with thirty, very old looking, gold coins, which predated any human currency in this world, stone jars containing ashes, the remains of some elves I guessed, and some, ancient elven equipment; one dagger, one bow.

"Forestwind can have the bow" I said.

The string of the bow had rotted away ages ago, but the bow itself was in excellent condition, and the dagger was enchanted, what kind of enchantment was something that Morgana could find out.

"That seems to be it" I said while scanning around "If there's anything more down here its been buried over the centuries".

We had what we'd come for so there was no point staying, and with that in mind we headed back to the surface.

"Well, well, well. What 'ave we got, 'ere?" a somewhat familiar voice said as we reached the surface "That's some fancy gear you got. We'll 'ave it".

They looked like bandits, dressed in furs and leather. One of them, likely the leader, was an Imperial brandishing a very sharp looking sword, but the rest of them only had simple daggers, clubs and bows.

"I know you" I said to the leader "You're the one who told me about this place".

To me it seemed pretty clear as to what was going on here. Clearly this gang of thugs had sent us out here, assuming that we'd find something, and so rather than risk their own lives, they'd planned to rob us as we left. Clever, or it would have been if they'd pulled this trick on someone else.

"Cameron, kill them" I ordered.

They never stood a chance.

(Line Break)

**Winterhold. Skyrim. **

I stood close to the large orb that had taken pride of place in the centre of the lecture hall. It certainly was an amazing discovery, there was no denying that. It was probably the most unique and powerful magical artefact ever found in Skyrim, perhaps all of Tamriel. I couldn't help but be in slight awe of it.

If the relic wasn't so dangerous I might try to take it for myself, but I did know how dangerous this object was so I didn't want it in the same dimension as myself as long as there was a chance it would go boom.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tolfdir coming over to me,

"I understand that you have been doing research on the Eye" he said.

Sadly I hadn't been able to find much.

"Yes sir, I have," I confirmed. "I found a book called 'Night Of Tears.' There was mention of an object of great power that men and mer fought and died over at Saarthal. There wasn't any great detail, but it can't be a coincidence that we found this at Saarthal".

Soon Tolfdir would realise what I had, that if people had gone to war over the Eye of Magnus in the past then they might do so again. The College could be in trouble. Groups like the Thalmor would kill everyone here in order to possess the Eye.

"Hmm... that is a rather grim discovery," he said sombrely. "But still, at least no-one died over it this time. I'm sure that as long as we treat it with respect and caution, everything will be fine".

I knew that things wouldn't be okay, not unless I ensured it, and I didn't think that he believed it either.

"What have you learned so far?" I asked.

More information wouldn't hurt.

"Well, why don't you have a look, see what you can tell me" the wizard said.

Not much really, I'd never seen anything like the Eye before, and in reality it was more alien than I could understand.

"It's big. It's floating. It's glowing" I said "It's a giant levitating sphere".

That wasn't all I had to say.

"The writing on it isn't Aleyid, or Dwemer, or Daedric, or Falmer" I went on to say.

Oddly I couldn't read any of the symbols on the Eye, which meant either they were total gibberish, or something about this relic prevented the Perk that allowed translation from working.

"They're unlike anything we've seen before" my teacher was now saying "this marvellous object. It practically radiates magicka. And yet it's unlike anything I've felt before".

We spent a few more minutes studying the Eye trying to figure out: what it's purpose was, where it came from, who made it, what could be learned from it. Already there was a theory that it had been given, in the early days, as a gift from the gods to mortals. This was where they learned magic from and how the first mages got their powers.

I myself postulated about the Eye's practical purposes. Considering that it seemed to radiate magicka then it stood to reason that, if it were harnessed correctly, it would not only give you great amounts of magical energy but also increase a mages power.

"Well, this has certainly been interesting," Tolfdir said to me "But you have studies of your own to be getting on with".

I was surprised to her this.

"Doesn't this take priority?" I asked.

I didn't understand how I could be expected to go back to studying Vala stones when I had something like this to try to figure out.

"Arch-Mage Saren and I are working hard on the subject of the Eye" Tolfdir told me "While you are entitled to help as well, it would be advisable for you to continue on with your own work".

I was leaving the hall when the Thalmor adviser came over to me, and I had to use all my self-restraint not to blast him into atoms. I really didn't like the Nazis elves.

"I'd like to know why there's someone claiming to be from the Psijiic Order here in the College" said the High Elf "More importantly, I'd like to know why he's asking for you specifically".

From the way he spoke, it was like he thought it was somehow my fault. And actually it was since I'd seen one of the legendary order of mages down in Saarthal. Now, he was back and looking for me. They'd known about the Eye being in Saarthal and what might happen when we found it.

This whole thing clearly had Ancano very rattled. Unlike me he hadn't expected one of the Psijiics to appear here. Now that one of them had, he was in a position of ignorance and he didn't like it. He was the kind of man who preferred to know everything that was going on in the world. Or at least that was the impression I got from the elf.

His pace quickened as we opened the door that went to the Arch-Mage's quarters. This was the first time I'd been in Savos Aren's quarters and they were very impressive. The room was grandly sized, aligned with display cases containing soul gems, from small to large

An alchemy table stood here as well, laden with ingredients for those with the skill of potion-making. At the centre was a tree, with plants like lavender and foxglove growing around it, decorated with glowing mage-lights. Aren and the Psijiic mage stood in front of it, apparently deep in discussion. They turned at the sound of footsteps.

I couldn't be sure, but I thought that it was the same Psijiic I saw in Saarthal. The one who appeared to me and warned me about the consequences of finding the Eye of Magnus. If it was him then events were in motion as I'd expected they would be.

"Ah, there you are Gothic" Arch-Mage Aren said by way of greeting.

The senior wizard then turned back to the Psijiic.

"Now then, shall we..."

Before he could finish that sentence Aren and everyone else were frozen in place as time stopped, leaving myself and the Psijiic free to move. Seemingly satisfied the spell had worked, the mage looked to me.

"It is good to meet you in person, Gothic" he said to me. "My name is Quaranir of the Psijiic Order".

We shook hands.

"Nice to meet you too," I said, while glancing at the frozen from of Ancano "Wish I knew how to do this whole time freezing trick".

Somehow I didn't think this Quaranir person would teach it to me.

"I've given us a chance to speak privately, though it probably isn't what you're used to. I'm afraid I can't do this for long, so we must be brief" he said.

Since there was no sense it delaying the member of the Psijicc Order simply got on with things.

"The situation here at you College is of dire importance," he began to explain, "and attempts to contact you, as we have previously, have failed. I believe it is due to the very source of our concern. This object... the Eye of Magnus as your people have taken to calling it, the energy coming from it is has prevented us from reaching you the same way we did before".

So before this Quaranir guy must have astral project in some way while also freezing time, that was impressive. I could slow down time with the magic of the Old Religion, but freezing time would take more magical power than I could ever use. The Psijicc Order must be working together as a group to do something this impressive.

"If it's powerful enough to block you guys, then I can understand your concern," I said "I get the feeling the Eye is far more trouble than it is worth".

Even if it didn't explode, which was still due to happen, then it would still be a danger as people would kill to posses the Eye of Magnus.

"Your intuition is correct," said Quaranir "The longer it remains here, the more dangerous the situation becomes. So, I have come here personally to tell you the situation must be dealt with".

I had plans for that.

"Many in the Order believe, as I do, that if the Eye remains here, it will be misused. We believe something will happen soon that cannot be avoided. Your efforts should be directed towards dealing with that event, but we cannot predict what that will be" I was told "I fear I have already overstepped the bounds of my Order, but I will offer this: seek out the Augur of Dunlain here in your College. His perception may be clearer than ours".

That happened in the game so it made sense.

"I am unsure where he is, but he is within in the College" Quaranir said to me "Surely one of your colleagues must know where he is".

He was down in the Midden if I remembered correctly. Still I would double check that.

"I am sorry I cannot provide further help, but this conversation requires a great deal of effort on my part" Quaranir informed "Now, I'm afraid I must leave. We will continue to watch over you and guide you as best we can. It is within you to succeed, never forget that".

He need not worry. I had things well in hand.

"You can count on me," I assured him.

The current of time returned to what it should be, and everyone who had been frozen suddenly seemed a little ill, but the effects didn't last for long.

"I'm sorry, were you about to say something?" asked the Arch-Mage.

He looked rather confused and I didn't blame him.

"There's been a misunderstanding," the monk said innocently. "I clearly should not be here. I shall take my leave".

This was surprising news to the Arch-Mage and to his adviser.

"What?" Ancano asked, a very angry tone of voice. "You ask for a specific member of the College, I bring him to you and now you simply want to leave? What are you up to? Explain yourself!".

Quaranir didn't at all seemed concerned about the Thalmor's fury. And why should he be? If his Order had the power to freeze time and appear where ever they wished then they had nothing to fear from the High Elves.

"I am not 'up to' anything," Quaranir replied "I apologise if I have offended you in any way".

Clearly Ancano was offended, and he had to put up with it as the monk guy vanished a moment later.

"We will see about this..." the Thalmor mage said before storming off.

He left Arch-Mage Aren and I alone to contemplate what had just happened.

"I feel so strange..." Aren said as he gazed thoughtfully at the tree in the centre of his quarters. "I'm... I'm not sure what happened..."

While I would have liked to have filled him in Quaranir wouldn't have gone to the trouble of freezing time if what he'd spoken about was for more than my ears.

"Sir, do you know anything about the Augur of Dunlain?" I asked.

His expression became more stern at the mention of it.

"Has Tolfdir been telling stories again? I thought I made it quite clear that this was a subject inappropriate for conversation" said the leader of the college "Please don't allow him to continue to discuss the subject".

I knew now to seek out Tolfdir. I might as well go with the flow of events until it was time to act. Since Morgana had a copy of the Staff of Magnus we could deal with the Eye easily enough, but I might as well try to acquire the original if I had the time.

"Excuse me sir, I have studies to attend to" I said to the Arch-Mage.

It took him a few moments to reply.

"Of course..." he said absently, while staring off into space.

Quickly I took my leave, heading back down to the Hall of Elements. It was unsurprising to me to see that Tolfdir was still present, studying the Eye intently. He really wanted to figure the thing out.

"Excuse me, sir" I said.

He was so engrossed in it that he didn't hear me.

"Tolfdir!" I yelled.

He snapped his head around.

"Oh, I am sorry my boy. The Eye, it is most intriguing" he said "what do you need, Gothic?"

Something very important.

"I need to find Augur of Dunlain" I answered "Do you know where he can be found?".

It was in Midden, but if he had directions to the right chamber I'd be grateful.

"Now, there's a name I haven't heard in a long time," he said thoughtfully "I suppose he's still down in the Midden, but I haven't really checked. Are you going to see him?".

Once I had indicated that I was going to do that I got precise directions.

"Do tell him 'hello' for me, would you?" Tolfdir requested.

I could do that.

"Thank you for your help" I said.

Not that I'd really needed it. Still it would be best to take Morgana with me as she might find the experience an interesting one.

(Line Break)

**The Midden. Skyrim. **

We'd climbed down into a cave that was cover with snow and found a ceiling that was hung with icicles. Beyond the limit of the cave was a stone room with a door leading to the next area, and there was something in that area. I could sense it.

An eerie, icy mist hung over the ground as we cautiously walked in. A pile of wood was stocked in the corner to the left and, curiously, there was sweeping brush in a basket that was propped next to the door. By the looks of thing someone had been down here doing some cleaning.

I slowly opened the door and stepped into the room beyond, I saw a draugr came shuffling towards us. Not that this really matter as Morgana and I simply blasted the undead thing with fire balls.

When we got closer to the strange thing that I could sense, we discovered that Ancano was already down here, talking to him. While I couldn't prove it, I had no doubt he was asking about the Eye of Magnus and it's power. As well as how to harness it for his own ends.

Once the Thalmor fucker was out of the way I lead Morgana into the chamber that housed the Auger. The door opened, revealing a large, floating mass of energy. I should have been more impressed, but compared to the Eye, the Auger wasn't so cool.

"Tolfdir says, hello" I told the Auger.

It didn't reply to that.

"Do you know why I am here?" I asked.

_ Your efforts are in vain. It has already begun. But those who have sent you have not told you what they seek, what you seek._

"Can you tell me about the Eye" I requested.

_The Thalmor sought the same thing, and it shall lead to his end as it has so many others. The one who calls himself Ancano has sought my knowledge as well, through very different questions. Your path differs from most. You are being guided, pushed towards something. It is a good path, one untravelled by many. It is a path that can save your College. I will tell you what you need to know to follow it further_

"What do I need then?"

Well there was the staff, I just had to have someone else mention so that no one would wonder how I knew about it.

_You, and those aiding you, wish to know more about the Eye of Magnus. You wish to avoid the disaster of which many are unaware. To see through Magnus' Eye without being blinded, you require his staff. Events now spiral quick towards an inevitable outcome, so you must act with haste. Take this knowledge to your Arch-Mage._

I turned to Morgana

"Do you want to ask anything?" I wondered.

She didn't so she went back to whatever it was she'd been doing while I went to see the Arch-Mage. He was still sitting in his chair, reading a book. I assumed that it had something to do with his research into the Eye.

"I need to tell you something, sir" I said, getting the mage's attention.

He put the book down on the table.

"Really, and what might that be?" he asked

"We need to find the Staff of Magnus" I said.

The Mages eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, what?" he replied "Well… I'd certainly love to have such a powerful staff, but I'm not really sure that any of us need it".

Well technically we didn't.

"And how do you know about the staff?" I was asked.

"I spoke with the Augnur of Dunlain" I said "and he specifically mentioned the Staff of Magnus and that finding it would save the College"

Savos thought for a second.

"I'm impressed with your initiative" he admitted "Of course, someone will need to follow up on this".

He wasn't exactly springing into action. Which I found odd as he knew all about the Labyrinthian and what was in it.

"Let me guess, this someone is me" I said.

Savos nodded.

"Precisely. Since you went so far as to seek out the Augur for advice" he was now saying "I'd have thought you'd be more enthusiastic".

Given the importance of finding the staff it seemed wise to me to send a few experienced mages not an apprentice.

"Now as for the Staff of Magnus. I'm not sure were to look for something like that" Aren told me "I seem to recall Mirabelle mentioning the Staff somewhat recently. Why don't you see if she can tell you anything?"

I was heading out of the room when the Arch-Mage spoke again.

"You know I'm quite pleased with your progress" he mentioned. "You've certainly proven yourself to be more than a mere apprentice. I think you are ready for some some advanced Spells".

The Arch-Mage stood up and pulled out three books from a shelf.

"Here. Take these" he instructed "I'm sure you can use them responsibly".

The names of the spells were called Ironflesh, which I knew to be a better version of the Oakflesh spell, conjure Frost-Atronarch, and Flame Cloak.

"Thank you. I won't let you down" I said.

The Arch-Mage smiled.

"I hope so" was his reply.

With that he sat back down, and continued to read his book. I was left wondering if the heads of all magic schools were this odd.

(Line Break)

**College of Winterhold. Skyrim. **

I sought out Mirabelle, who was looking out of a window down to the ocean. Since we were very far in the north, the ocean was frozen over. Still it was a pleasant sight to look at if you liked that sort of thing.

"Mirabelle!" I said, to get her attention "Do you know anything about the Staff of Magnus?".

She turned around, and looked at me.

"Well now that's an odd question. Why in the world would you be asking?" she inquired.

I couldn't actually tell her the truth, not without exposing the fact that I knew much more about what was going on than I should. I didn't want the kind of attention I would get if people knew what I could really do and what I kind of knowledge I had. I still had things I wanted to do while visiting this world and those would be harder to accomplish if people kept following me around while asking for help.

"The Arch-Mage said you mentioned it" I told her "And that got me curious".

I knew that she wouldn't be able to help telling me more.

"Well yes, I suppose I did mention it, though I'm not sure what he expects me to tell you" the teacher said "I only brought it to his attention a few months back when the Synod showed up here looking for it. They were apparently under the impression we were keeping it in a closet somewhere".

I didn't know that group.

"And who's the Synod?" I wondered.

I no knowledge of this group, and that was remarkable as I knew a lot about so much.

"They're Mages based out of Cyrodiil. They fancy themselves the Imperial Authority on magic these last few hundred years. My understanding is that all they really do is make noises in attempt to curry favour from the Emperor" she told me "Lots of politics, little magic".

She had more to say on the subject.

"I was quite surprised to find them on our doorstep" the mage was now saying "They seemed amiable enough, but their line of questioning made me… uneasy".

She seemed disturbed.

"It became clear that they're trying to horde powerful artefacts, looking to consolidate power" Mirabelle explained.

It was clear that she had a strong distaste for the Synod.

"And where is it now? The Staff I mean" I said.

She shrugged.

"The Synod seemed convinced it was somewhere in Skyrim" she answered "They inquired about the ruins of Mzulft, but that's all I remember. It sounded like they were heading there, though they were rather secretive about why. I suppose if you're intend on looking for the Staff, there's a chance they might be in Mzulft".

"Where is this ruin?" I asked.

I felt certain that I'd been to Mzulft before, but all of the dwarven ruins had names I couldn't pronounce and if I hadn't been to Mzulft then I wouldn't pass up the chance to explore another dwarven ruin.


	8. Chapter 8

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold **

**Part 8**

**College of Winterhold. Skyrim.**

When we arrived back, Morgana, Cameron and I, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary here at the school. The statue of the first mage was still there, as were the beams of magicka shooting up into the sky. Nothing looked smashed or destroyed. No-one was panicking or running around like headless chickens. Which made me wonder where the weird magical things were that were suppose to attack Winterhold around about now.

"Everything looks fine" I said, feeling unsure "But something's not right. I can feel it".

The Force was trying to warn me of something, of that I felt sure.

"I bet Anacno's been up to something" Morgana said "We should check on him after check in with the other apprentices".

They'd likely know what was going on around here.

"Morgana, Gothic! Thank Talos you're back!" Onmund called out.

To say that he looked flustered would be an understatement.

"What is it? What's going on?" I asked.

I got the feeling that I wouldn't have time to explore the Labyrinthian, that events were coming to a close sooner than I'd expected.

"We kept an eye on Ancano like you told us to," the Nord began by saying, "he was in the Hall of Elements when J'zargo was watching him. He was... well, uh..."

I'd asked the other apprentices to keep an eye on the Eye while I was gone. Not that I'd need to leave, but my Judgement Day Perk was telling me that I still had some time and I hadn't wanted to pass up the chance to examine another dwarven ruin.

"J'zargo saw him with the Eye," the Khajiit explained, taking over at this point in the converation "He was doing... something to it. J'zargo tried talking to him, but he would not respond. J'zargo ran to tell the Arch-Mage what happened and, when we got back, there was some kind of... ward in place at the entrance".

I listened closely.

"Then he came back here," said Onmund. "Aren told us to stay here and wait for you to get back. That was only a few minutes ago".

I knew immediately what we needed to do.

"Morgana I need your staff" I said.

While she took that out of her pouch of holding I spoke to the rest of the group.

"We need to get to the Hall," I told them urgently. "They may need help".

Morgana passed me the staff.

"Come on, let's hurry!" I shouted.

At the archway that led into the main part of the lecture hall, we found a whirlwind of energy was blocking our way. It had the same colour as a ward spell, but seemed like it was many time times more powerful than even the strongest protection spell.

"I'm not sure," Mirabelle was saying, "it's like a ward but who's casting it? Anacno? How?".

My supernatural senses were going haywire and my Judgement Day clock was now letting me know that we had less than half an hour until the world ended. Something had changed, something was different here than in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if Jump Chan was interfering in events for her own amusement.

"I don't care what it is" said Aran.

The Arch-Mage's voice was far less friendly than it normally was, he was a mite upset.

"I want it down. Now! I want to know what he's doing in there!" he demanded.

Mirabelle was certainly surprised at his tone. But she nodded and began too cast frostbite at the magical wall.

"Ah, you're back and just in time," he said, sounding relieved.

"Sir, I have the Staff of Magnus," I told him.

He didn't seem surprised.

"Excellent" he replied Ancano has sealed himself in the Hall somehow" he told me "Help us take this down, will you? We're throwing everything we've got at it!"

From what I could The Eye was still there, but it was glowing more brightly than I had ever seen it. What looked like wisps or beams of magicka flowed off it's surface and were focused on one specific point. Or rather, one specific person.

Ancano stood before the Eye, his arms outstretched towards the sky. The energy was whirling and flowing into his body, giving him an unnatural glow.

I didn't know exactly how powerful he was now or how powerful he might become if he kept this up. But I knew one thing: he had to be stopped before he could destroy this world in a big magical explosion.

"What's going on here?" I heard someone ask.

Mirabelle looked angry, a little scared even. Aren, however, was beside himself in rage.

"Ancano! Stop this at once! I command you!" the Arch-Mage shouted.

The Thalmor agent didn't react. So Aren began to walk towards him slowly, his hands aglow with magic.

"Don't go near him!" I shouted, knowing that only the staff could end this.

Despite this warning, the Arch-Mage continued to approach the barrier. As he neared Ancano, it was then the Altmer reacted to his presence. His head turned slowly to face Savos, his eyes glowing with magic and malice. A smile crept his way onto his face. There was no joy in it. It was a smile of contempt, and pure madness. He began to raise his right hand, which had a ball of light slowly growing in it.

Then there was a flash of light and the Arch-Mage was blasted right out of the Hall. I found him out there lying in the snow, looking strangely peaceful and tranquil. His head was lolled to one side, his arms outstretched I didn't even need to check for a pulse or if he was breathing. He was gone.

Well not for long as the magical attacked hadn't harmed the body that much, and his soul must not have moved on as I was able to bring the Arch-Mage back to life. He fainted as soon as I did, but I knew that he would be okay.

"Gothic, my boy!" I whipped around to see Tolfdir running towards me. "Are you two alright? What happened in there?".

The other apprentices were now rushing outside to join us.

"It's Ancano sir," I heard Brelyna explain. "He's done... he's doing something to the Eye."

"By the Nine..." Tolfdir said in shock "Is he responsible for this? The Arch-Mage, is he dead?".

I shook my head.

"He's not dead" I assured everyone "But he is badly hurt. You need to get him out of this cold and put him in his bed".

A couple of the apprentices moved to do just that.

"There's more," Tolfdir said to me "Something's happened to Winterhold. It must have something to do with whatever Ancano did. You need to get out there and make sure it's safe. Quickly now, quickly! I'll find Mirabelle and see if we can't put a stop to this".

I looked at the apprentices.

"Go into the town and see what you can do" I instructed my fellow apprentices "I'm going to stop this at the source".

Tolfdir and Mirabelle seemed to be trying different methods to break through the ward whirlwind, none of them very successful. Mirabelle saw me and rushed over. I could see her eyes watering up and she looked like she was trying very hard not to start crying.

Not that she needed to fear as I was about to put an end to this, and I'd make Ancano pay for what he'd done.

(Line Break)

**College of Winterhold. Skyrim.**

"I am pleased to say that, even though he didn't want to admit it, Jarl Korir doesn't fully blame the College," Tolfdir was saying to myself and the Arch-Mage "He acknowledges that we did our best to protect Winterhold, even if it was from a disaster of our own making. Thankfully he's quite happy to place all the blame on Ancano and the Thalmor".

That didn't surprise me as the local Nords blamed the High Elves for everything that went wrong, and they had good reason to what with the war and the elves who were hunting Talos worshippers.

"Better than what we could have hoped for" said Aren.

The dumner was recovering nicely, and didn't seem to have realised that he'd died. This was good news for me as I really didn't want people finding out that I could raise the dead.

"Indeed, Arch-Mage," the old wizard agreed.

Just yesterday, I had spoken to the Jarl and the people of Winterhold about the events that had transpired a few days ago. I would have gone sooner, but we'd all been busy repairing the damage that Ancano had done while abusing of the Eye of Magnus.

There was also a slight aftershock of sorts, following the Eye incident. More of those 'magicka wraiths' as they were called had appeared. Thankfully between the copy of the Staff of Magnus and my fellow apprentices we'd been able to deal with pests.

They locals had, of course, put all of the blame on the College, that we had done it deliberately in an attempt to destroy Winterhold. Some even made reference to the Great Collapse, that we were at it again.

"I'm leaving soon" I told the two senior mages "Along with Morgana".

They were shocked to hear this.

"What? Whatever for?" the Arch-Mage asked me.

Well mostly it was because I'd only intended to stay long enough to stop the Eye from going boom and so that Morgana could get a taste of what a magical education was like. Which so far she seemed to be enjoying.

As amazing as this world could be, I was having a hard time enjoying it because I kept going on adventures when I actually wanted to stay in one place and learn a little about magic. Perhaps going to Hogwarts wasn't such a bad idea.

"I want to some more exploring" I told the senior mages "Hopefully I will return one day".

The head of this school wanted someone to replace him, and he had his eye on me for the role, but that wasn't possible at the moment as I had more Jumps ahead. Perhaps once I had my Spark and could travel freely I would return to this dimension and take up a teaching post. After all those Jumps I would need something more relaxing to do with my time.

"I wish you well in your travels" said Tolfdir.

Since I had nothing else to say and some packing to do, I left the Arch-Mage's quarters. I needed to get Morgana and Cameron before I left and I had a feeling that the Seer would want to take a lot of stuff with her.

"Before you go take this" Aren instructed. "It is the Mage's Circlet, it will strengthen your magic".

I took the item and thanked the Arch-Mage for it before heading out the door.

(Line Break)

**Castle Dawnguard. Skyrim.**

Mere moments after reuniting with Serana and Forestwind, the later of which had been running across the country looking for stuff to make potions out of even since I'd headed for the college, I spoke to the vampire and she agreed to become one of my companions.

Which involved more than just agreeing to travel with me, all the women in my group were also my lovers, as such Serana and I decided to get on with the fucking.

Actually she was far more eager about it than me, but she had been sealed away underground for centuries. I found myself dragged to the bedroom and practically thrown onto the bed. Leaping on top of me, her mouth found mine as we made out, only stopping to remove an article of clothing, before resuming our kiss.

We were both naked very quickly, and of course I was already hard as steel, it didn't take much to get me going.

I took delight in running my hands all over her surprisingly warm body as straddled my lap, once she was in placed she reached back for my cock, gently caressing it.

"It's not going to get any harder" I told her.

After moving a hand to her sex, I found that she was already hot and wet, when I'd expected her to feel colder what with the whole vampire thing. Perhaps she wasn't as dead as other kinds of vamps.

I gently inserted a finger inside her. She gasped as I did so before she smiled again. She quickly lost all interest in fondling my cock as I slowly fingered her, and eventually inserted a second digit. However I didn't want her to cum on my fingers. I wanted her to cum on my cock.

I don't think she was too interested in being fingered for too long either. She was enjoying it, but I found my wrist grabbed and my hand removed, making sure I licked my fingers clean. She manoeuvred herself so she was sitting on my cock, pressed against my body, rubbing her pussy along my shaft. I had no idea she could tease so well.

"For how long have you wanted to do this?" I asked.

Serana smiled at me.

"Since the day you opened my tomb" she admitted.

I was surprised to hear that.

"For that long?" I asked.

Rather than reply she leaned down to lay a soft kiss on my lips before she leaned back. After grabbing the base of my cock, she lifted herself up and positioned it at her entrance. I didn't know if I should look into her eyes, or watch my cock disappear inside her.

I eventually decided to do the latter. As the head of my cock disappeared inside her, I couldn't help groan. She took it very slowly, an inch disappearing at a time before she'd lift herself up. Again, I think it was more teasing than anything else, but she acted as she couldn't take my entire length in just one go.

The smile probably didn't leave my face the entire time as I watched Serana slowly ride my dick. I watched it slowly reappear before it disappeared once again. I watched her breasts bounce up and down. I watched her face and the waves of pleasure that appeared. I ran my hands all over her body, grabbing a handful of breast or squeezing her arse.

She rode me slowly at first but slowly picked up her pace. Never too fast, I don't think she could have handled that this quickly. But her pussy was divine and I knew I'd never want to be with someone else again.

"I won't last much longer," I muttered, knowing I would never be able to hold it back.

She leaned forward, pressing both hands into my chest, and started to ride me a little faster.

"Cum inside me," she said.

I did about thirty seconds later. I finally relaxed, feeling a real urge to sleep. I managed stay awake, and stayed hard for a little longer. Serana could happily keep riding me for a while as my cock barely seem to soften at all.

(Line Break)

**Cosmic Warehouse. Outside of Reality**

As I looked over the Jump Set Up for Teen Titans Jump I noted right away that the Background section was divided into two categories; Species and History, three options for the former, four for the later. Among the Species, Human was, of course, free. The other two were not just pricey, but incredibly so.

Tamaranean, the species to which Starfire and her sister, Blackfire, belonged to, cost a staggering 800 CP, while Raven's kind the Half-Demons, not only cost an even 1,000 CP but came with not one but two mandatory drawback, one of which transformed the Jumper's body into a portal for the insane and vicious demonic overlord named Trigon.

While becoming a Half-Demon wasn't worth the potential pain, suffering, and the ending of the chain, taking on a Tamaranean body was very tempting. They came with a lot of powers, including but not limited, to super strength, flight, the ability to fire plasma bolts or create plasma shields, some sort of heat vision, super speed, super toughness.

Basically it was a variation om the Superman package, perhaps not that tough, but this species was lacking in any big weaknesses, such as magic, which was good as I was a magic user. It wouldn't do to take that form, assuming I did, and then get taken out by one of my spells reflected back at me

These aliens could even learn any human or alien language via lip contact. Plus they were resistant to extreme heat, extreme cold, harmful radiation, and could even survive in vacuum for a limited amount of time.

There was more to Tamaranean Physiology if my files were correct, they had 9 stomachs, which meant they must be able to eat loads. Perhaps they required a massive calorie intake in order to full their powers.

Other options were Athlete, Nerd, and Thief. Athlete offered nothing that I didn't already have. Nerd was mostly technical, although it did offer telepathy, which I already had to an extent thanks the Force, and while I also had emphatic abilities there was a Perk that could enhance that gift of mine for a very low cost

Then there was the Thief, section and Thief did have some nice stuff. Elasticity like Plastic Man, Teleportation via portals, Shapeshifting that allowed you to become a specific people, and even Self-Duplication.

That last was exceptionally tempting, and I only stayed clear as it didn't indicate if duplicates were reabsorbed or remained permanently separate, or if losing one would be a chain ender if the copy died.

It was better to safe than sorry and while I could ask Jump Chain for some clarification, currently she wasn't around. Which was annoying as I had some questions that I wanted answered.

I could also got the freebie 'Rogue' if I selected Thief, or had someone else take it, which was a nice little booster, allowing me to perform feats of great skill and agility, running over obstacles, dodging enemy attacks, navigating treacherous terrain, charming people with my words. It was, perhaps, a little bit of everything, but it was free.

However I was already agile and fast, and I could dodge enemy attacks with Force. Even charming people wasn't much of a chore when you had the Jedi Mind Trick and some experience talking to people.

Most of these Perks would suit my companions more than myself, and there were some nice equipment choices as well, I'd need to bring in a few companions in order to get everything that I wanted from this planned Jump.

Spending nothing would get me 8 companions with a background and a human body. Spending up to 400 CP would get them freebies, perks, discounts, and twice whatever CP I spent for them to spend.

Of course, I wanted to give my companions the best, so I would have to carefully chose everyone's Perks, Backgrounds and so on.

"Gather round everyone I've chosen the eight companions who will be coming with me on a Jump I have planned for after Harry Potter!" I called out "And I have a suitable Jump Set up. We can change things if you really want to, this is just the first draft".

Not that there was any rush I hadn't even started Harry Potter Jump I just wanted to show everyone my idea. It was good to have a plan set up ahead.

"Jump Chan dropped by for a few seconds and mentioned that I should recruit Raven, a powerful magic user and part demon" I told the girls "Which would make the MCU the tenth Jump, but given the sheer amount of CP companions get in this Jump I think you'll like this choice".

While Jump Chan had not told me why I should recruit the Teen Titan known as Raven. I suspected that it had something to do with going into a Comic Book world. It did make sense to visit a Comic Book world that didn't have a high body count as it would be safer than going right for the MCU.

"It might be important" I went on to say "Or she could just be fucking with me, either way I thought it best to be prepared".

Everyone look at the document that I had displayed on the Terminal.

Teen Titans Jump (Anon V.1.12)

Jumper

Gothic

Companions

Miranda Lawson

Tali'Zorah

Seven of Nine

Samantha Carter

Morgana Pendragon

Serana Volkihar

Luna Lovegood/Hermione Granger

"I will attempt to recruit at least one of the witches I'll go to Hogwarts with" I told the group "Those two are my favourites, but it might end up being someone else".

There was sense to committing to acquiring one of these witches when I had a full decade in the world of Harry Potter ahead of me.

Allenl Forestwind

Non-Imported Companions

Cameron

Sol

Cortana

R2-D2

"Okay here are the details" I said "We'll start with me".

Gothic

Budget 1000cp

Age: 15

Species: Human - Free

Mystery - Free

Location - Jump City

Companions - 600cp

"I've spent 400cp on companions so that I can important 8 people with me and give you 800cp each" I explained "That's quite a lot of CP for companions so I've been able to get you all some very cool Perks and equipment".

Empathy - 550cp

"I have that via the Force, but the text says I can manipulate emotions and detect emotional echos which I can follow to the source" I was now saying "I'm not totally sure that means, and normally I wouldn't fork out good CP for a power I don't understand, but its only 50cp and might this perk might come in handy".

Ionikinesis - 450cp

"Never hurts to have a little extra fire power" I said "And I like the idea of being able to blast people with plasma".

Martial Arts - 350cp

That didn't need explaining. My hand to hand skills had gotten rusty over the years.

Bio-engineering 150cp

"I've been meaning to enhance my knowledge of genetic engineering and the like" I said.

This Perk was vitally important as I would be starting this Jump, if we ever got to it, in a normal human body, for the most part. Which was important because with my existing knowledge of genetic engineering combined with this Perk I should be able to alter that new body into a very powerful vessel.

Over the years I'd collected DNA samples from many people of different races, so my plan was to take this new and young body, then alter to make it as powerful as possible by giving it traits gathered from others.

Plus there was the possibility of giving people animal traits. I had an amusing idea of making one of my woman give milk like a cow. Miranda and Seven of Nine certainly had the boobs for such a thing.

Holographic Disguise Rings - 100cp

"We've had problems with using holograms to disguise things before" I said to the group.

Many years ago Miranda had managed to acquire some small devices from the SGC that had been recovered from an alien race known as the Stragoth, these devices used hologram to disguise a person. However we never manged to alter the devices in order to change the holographic disguise. Which limited the usefulness of the tech.

Admission - 0cp

"If I remember correctly there's a school for super powered bad guys that I might want to join in order to bring down" I said to the group "Given that there is some advanced tech on that version of Earth I can't be certain that Cortana will be able to infiltrate their systems and get me accepted as a student".

Miranda Lawson

Budget 800cp

Age: 15

"You can de-age your current body or get a new younger form that I can enhance for you it doesn't matter which" I told her "For some reason in this world teenagers can be do adult work so it won't make a difference".

Species: Human - Free

Mystery - Free

Location - Jump City

Not So Secret Base -400cp

"Expense, but it is worthwhile" I said to Miranda "And I have plans to make the base very secret".

While in the Wizarding World I would have to learn a difficult charm and decide who would be the Secret Keeper, not that these matters worried me as I was very good at Charms and I trusted my girls. That spell would hide the base along with making it unplottable, invisible to Muggles and so on. It should serve us well.

Augmentations

Built In Communicator - 200cp

"Something to help you coordinate the rest of us" I explained.

She was already a cyborg like myself because of her biotics so another implant wouldn't make a difference, and it would be interesting to compare that words cybernetics with other examples of that technology.

Allowance - 100cp

"Cortana should be able to get us money, but any online robbery might be detected by one of the heroes, who sometimes have access to advanced alien tech, his should eliminate any need to risk that" I informed the group.

If needs be I had other ways of making money without it being too noticeable. That shouldn't be necessary with such a large budget.

Martial Arts - 0cp

Again this didn't need explaining, it was always good to have some extra combat skills.

Tali'Zorah

Budget 800cp

Age - 16

Species: Human - Free

Nerd - 700cp

Location - Jump City

Engineering - Free

Technopathy - 500cp

"You'll be able to control machines with your mind" I explained "Which I knew we can do with Ancient technology, but I still think that this will come in really handy".

Personal Communicators - 450cp

Xenothium - 350cp

"I don't know much about that substance, so I'd like to study it and see if it is useful to us" I told the quarian.

Augmentations

In Built Weapon - 150cp

"I can see you finding that useful" I said "You can chose what weapon it is".

Holographic Disguise Rings - 100cp

"Might need spares if we can't replicate the technology" I said.

Martial Arts - 0cp

Seven of Nine

Budget 800cp

Age - 16 (I kept rolling five when it came to deciding the ages)

Species: Human - Free

Nerd - 700cp

Location - Jump City

Engineering - Free

Electrokinesis - 500cp

"You need some sort of super power" I said to her.

T-Ship - 100cp

"That will take up most of your CP" I said to her "But it should be filled with the tech of that universe and give you plenty to study".

Martial Arts - 0cp

Samantha Carter

Budget - 800cp

Age - 17

Mystery - Free

Tamaranen - 0cp

"Tamaranens have a whole load of super powers" I said to Carter "And you'll need the boost for when we reach the MCU. I know that becoming an alien could be strange, but Tali can help you to understand having an alternate form, and you only have to use that body in a fight. Just make sure to stay human when we start the Jump, if we started so that you don't get separated from the group".

I'd explained the abilities of that race in greater detail should we actually go on this Jump.

Morgana Pendragon

Budget 800cp

Age - 18

Species: Human - Free

Mystery - Free

Location - Jump City

Aerokinesis - 700cp

Profitability Manipulation 100cp

"That allows you to affect Luck" I told her "I'll explain it in detail later".

Martial Arts - 0cp

Serana Volkihar

Budget 800cp

Age - 16

Species: Human - Free

Mystery - Free

Location - Jump City

Hydrokinesis - 700cp

"You use ice attacks so I figured you'd like greater control over water".

Library - 400cp

Telepathy - 100cp

Martial Arts - 0cp

Luna Lovegood/Hermione Granger

"Since I'm not sure which witch I'll recruit, I might go for both" I said "So I'll leave this slot blank for now".

Allenl Forestwind

Budget 800cp

Age - 16

"I kept rolling 5s for some reason" I told the group.

Species: Human - Free

Thief - 700cp

Location - Jump City

Rogue - Free

Teleportation - 550cp

Shapeshifting -350cp

T-Bike - 150cp

Personal Communicators - 100cp

Martial Arts - 0cp

"I was thinking that we could be the bad guys for a change" I informed the group "Not the death ray building super villain type, more like the kind of people who take control of organised crime, and supply the military with advanced weapons".

Actually building a death ray and holding a city to ransom was a really stupid idea. All you had to do was design a working model, patent the design and sell it to the government who would be happy to pay for such a weapon.

While I wouldn't allow anything world ending I should be able to get away with conquering the world, just not directly. Why conquer nations when you can control them from behind the scenes?. Although ruling an entire country could be fun. I'd led two Confederations in the past, but I'd not really ruled them. Maybe running a small country could be fun.

"I'd like a change of pace" I admitted "I don't want to save people for a change. I'm not saying we should harm them, but wouldn't it be nice to do stuff like take control of the media and bribe world leaders so that follow our agendas?".

No seemed eager for this.

"Okay any questions?" I asked.

Everyone's hand went up and I figured that I could be at this for a while.


	9. Chapter 9

**Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold**

**Part 9**

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

We had finally arrived at the island called Solstheim, which was located on the Sea of Ghosts, between the provinces of Skyrim and Morrowind.

For the longest time, Solstheim had held little significance to the greater world, until the East Empire Trading Company arrived and built their colony here. It had grown in importance again after the disaster in Morrowind when the High King of Skyrim gave Solstheim to Dark Elven refugees.

However they weren't the only people who lived on the island. The Skaal Tribe of Nords had lived on Solstheim since the Merethic Era. I was looking forward to meeting those people as they had knowledge of a substance called Stalhrim, a kind of enchanted ice, which in times past was used in the burial rituals of ancient Nords and Atmorans.

The deceased would be encased in the material as a form of protection, a privilege that was typically reserved for only Nordic individuals. It was also believed to have been used to craft armour for ancient kings that fought in long forgotten battle.

In order to get here Morgana, Cameron, Serana, Forestwind and I had boarded the Northern Maiden, bound from Windhelm to Raven Rock on the island of Solstheim. It had not been easy to convince the captain of this small ship to make the trip, but gold had a way of controlling many men, and I had plenty of money.

While it would have been possible to beam to this island after scouting it out with probes I'd decided against that since I'd wanted to come here by ship, and besides not knowing everything that lay ahead would make this adventure more fun.

While she had not been to Solstheim before now, Allnel Forestwind, my Bosmer companion, had been created with a lot of knowledge about this world in order to better serve as a local guide, so she knew a little of what awaited us on the isle.

Strictly speaking Forestwind hadn't actually been to many places at all as she was only weeks old, but she remembered visiting plenty of places as when I'd been designing her character I'd made sure that she would have knowledge that was useful to me.

Sometimes I wondered if I'd had the right to create Allnel, but I'd not worried about it much, she seemed happy with her existence, and it wasn't as if she was a slave, she got a share of the loot and I didn't mistreat her.

As we'd sailed Allnel had told the group about Red Mountain, or Dagoth Ur as it was called in the Dunmer tongue, the great volcano in the centre of the island of Vvardenfell, which sat in the centre of Morrowind. Legends spoke that it had been formed out of the heart of Lorkhan, the aedra who'd made this world.

We'd seen from the ship a giant cloud of ash that came from that volcano. The captain had told us that the cold winds from the farthest north cooled most of the ash, but it would still be hot and stuffy in Raven Rock, the port-town on the eastern corner of the island.

When we arrived at the port I could see that the air was filled with ash, like a snowfall in winter, but it was warm and not cold as the Northern Maiden settled in at the docks, also the air was easy to breathe, if not for the heat it really could be snowing.

Once we had docked the captain set his crew about securing the ship. While they were working a Dunmer in fine clothing boarded the ship. When he saw my group he become suspicious. I didn't need Force Empathy in order to detect it.

"I don't recognise you, Imperial" he said to me, while speaking in a voice of authority. "So I assume this is your first visit to Raven Rock, out lander. State your intentions".

While I wasn't actually an Imperial I did resemble one what with my fair skin, but not too fair skin, blue eyes and crop of dark hair. I was also well educated and well spoken like the Imperials, which this Dark Elf would soon discover.

He'd singled me out as the leader, and made sense since I was the leader, which meant that this Dark Elf was at least somewhat insightful.

"My name is Gothic" I told the Dunmer male "This is my wife the Lady Morgana, our maid servant Cameron, the Bosmer is Allnel Forestwind our guide in these lands, and last of all we have Serana our travelling companion. We're scholars and explores come to learn about the island".

Upon returning to Castle Dawnguard after leaving the College of Winterhold, I'd met with both Serana and Allnel, they'd both agreed to join the rest of my group on the Jump Chain. Although given that Forestwind had been created by Jump Chain I didn't think she'd really had much choice in the matter. Still I'd asked if only to be polite.

I'd thought it wise not to end the Jump right away after recruiting Serana as I wanted to ease her into being one of my companions. Spending a few days exploring this island was a good way to do that and after having been locked for so long I knew that Serana craved new sights, smells and sounds.

"As long as you're staying here, remember this. Raven Rock is sovereign territory of the House Redoran" we were told "This is Morrowind, not Skyrim: while you're here, you will be expected to obey our laws. Any questions?".

There were none from me.

"You don't seem to trust outsiders," Serana stated.

That hadn't been a question, but she still got an answer.

"And with good reason!" the Dunmer said "I am Adril Arano, second councilor here at Raven Rock. The security of this town is my responsibility".

I didn't know enough about Dark Elf governments to understand exactly how important this man was, yet I was able to hazard a guess given his sense of self importance and his fine clothing, which told me that he believed himself important and that he had the wealth to show it.

"Have there been any security issues here on the island?" Cameron queried.

Naturally this was a concern of hers since she was my bodyguard and would want to know of any dangers in advanced.

"Of course," Adril replied. "This isn't exactly Blacklight. We're on the frontier and we have our fair share of ruffians. But I won't let them get the best of us, not after all we've put into this town".

If I recalled correctly Blacklight was one of the eight major cities in the province of Morrowind and was the capital of the northwestern region of the province. Blacklight was also the capital of the Great House Redoran, who were a political house known for their war-like ideals and their focus on strength and endurance. After Mournhold was sacked, Blacklight became the new capital of the province of Morrowind.

As for the dangers here on this island, of those there were many. Bandits, some little creatures that could be a type of goblin, possibly a few dragons, and of course there was Miraak, who I wished to avoid.

He was the issue of the Dragonborn who had recently defeated the World-Eater. I knew that because my Judgement Day Perk was no longer letting me know that the world would end. Which was nice.

Of course some event could still take place that might destroy Nirn, which made me glad that I wasn't going to be staying here for ten years. If that had been the case I'd have spent the entire decade moving from one disaster area to another of that I felt sure.

"There's some sort of disturbance around the Earth-Stone, but I'm not entirely sure what it's about" the Dark Elf told us.

I wouldn't mind checking out the Earth stone, as while the First Dragonborn was not my problem the sight could be an interesting one.

"Remember," Adril said "We're watching you".

I was sure that he'd meant to sound threatening, however after all I'd been through I simply couldn't be intimated by a bureaucrat.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

As we disembarked from the ship and onto the docks I smiled as it felt good to have solid ground beneath my feet again, even if it was covered in a fine layer of ash. At some point I'd have to collect a sample of this ash as it could be different that normal ash.

The guards here were covered in bonemold armour from head to toe I noticed, and I also wished for a sample of that material. I would have plenty of time in the future for study and I was sure that there was a lot to learn about the materials used in this world.

Looking around I saw that town of Raven Rock had high walls of stone on either side, and while we walked, another thing that I noticed was that there were more than a few pairs of red eyes watching us.

"Why are they looking at us?" Morgana asked me in a whisper.

We'd all left the Dawnguard behind, and while I was wearing armour it certainly didn't seem much like armour. I'd gone back to wearing a layer of chain mail over thick kull warrior cloth material, with a black greatcoat over all of it. Also I had on solid boots which were enchanted to let me run faster.

I made sure to keep my particle magnum and lightsabre hidden while Caliburn, my enchanted sword which had been empowered by dragon's fire was in plain sight, however it looked like nothing more than a fancy steel longsword. The life support belt which I wore must look strange, but it should just look like an odd fashion choice.

While I had considered wearing the Mage Circlet, which had been gifted to me by the Arch-Mage of the College, I'd decided not to as it looked rather silly on me. So I'd re-gifted it to Serana who wore it under her hood.

Morgana wore an expensive looking dress under a travellers cloak, however she did look the part of Imperial noble. Cameron wore a much more plain outfit, clean and simple, like a serving woman would wear. As for Forestwind wore her Nightingale armour, and while this did draw some attention, odd appearances were nothing new in this world.

Some of them might have realised that Serana was a vampire, however she was hardly the only person with a hood up, and while she was wearing ornate leather armour, which somewhat showed off her figure the kind of attention she was getting wasn't the admiring type.

"What do you want?" a guard asked.

The guards in Skyrim had always been friendly towards me, and while I knew the people living here weren't so welcoming to outsiders I'd not thought to hear such hostility in anyone's voice.

"I would like directions to the Earth Stone," I said.

"Can't you look for yourself?" the guard retorted.

Then, with a disgusted grumble, he pointed us in the right direct

"That way" he said gruffly.

For some reason I got the feeling that this trip wasn't going to be as fun as I'd hoped.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

Soon we came to the tall stone which I had wanted to check out. Before even giving the stone a glance I saw a bald Dunmer who wore rather garish robes, he was watching several people working about the large shrine.

As a group we approached the Dunmer, who turned to greet us. Though he was red-eyed and blue-skinned with a fiercely prominent brow, like the others of his race, he greeted us with something other than mild hostility.

"You there," he said. "You don't seem to be in quite the same state as the others, very interesting".

Interesting was a good word for what was going on around here, although the poor people who were working on the stone might not think that. Most of them were Dunmer - guards, men, women and children, townsfolk of all ages, but some were Nords clad in thick clothing.

They all seemed to be speaking in the same lifeless, droning voice.

"Here is the shrine..." they said. "That they have forgotten...Here do we toil...That we might remember..."

I didn't need my supernatural sense to realise how creepy this was.

"May I ask what it is you're doing here?" the Dunmer asked.

At this point I was sure that this Dark Elf was the wizard you work with in the game while trying to acquire the Black Books. I'd have to visit his home soon and see what could be learned from him.

"We're here to explore and learn" I said to the mage "My wife and I are members of the College of Winterhold".

Which was totally true, but the College didn't have anything to do with why we were here.

"By night we reclaim..." droned the workers. "What by day was stolen...Far from ourselves...He grows ever near to us..."

This was a lot creepier than in the game.

"Any idea what is going on here" Serana asked.

"I'm not sure," the elf said "Here are ruins near the centre of the island. My research has shown that they were part of an ancient temple dedicated to Miraak. If I were you, I'd look there for answers".

Hopefully someone would direct the Dragonborn to that sight when they arrived on this island. I might have handled this matter myself if it didn't involve one of the Princes, whom I wished to avoid, and it wasn't a world ending threat in any case. I'd already dealt with two of those and I was done saving the locals.

"Something's wrong with these people" Morgana said to the Dark Elf mage "Haven't you tried to stop them?".

He seemed shocked by the very idea.

"Me? Of course not!" the Dunmer exclaimed. "To do that would prevent whatever happens when they're done. I've been waiting too long to see what happens when they're finished, I just have to see how all this turns out!"

With that he turned and walked away, leaving us alone with the hypnotised people.

"Don't worry the Dragonborn will save them" I assured the group "Let's head back into town and do some shopping".

My women didn't let the matter drop until I explained that freeing these people was part of a series of events that would led to the Dragoborn saving the whole island, and that if we interfered then Miraak might win and a lot of people would be hurt. That calmed them down somewhat, but they still weren't happy about the situation, hopefully some shopping would distract them.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

I was at the blacksmith's shop, looking over the few arrows he had for sale. There weren't many, but they'd have to do. I didn't want to Forestwind to run out and he was the only person that sold them in the town.

Sure I could replicate plenty of steel arrows for her, but they wouldn't be as good as the ones made from the more exotic local materials and I didn't want to spend my time forging arrows for her when I could just buy some.

The blacksmith, a large bald man, had seemed to be in a foul mood the whole time I was there. Finally I asked what was the matter and he spoke to me on the subject.

"You haven't seen Crescius Caerellius have you?" he asked "That foolish old man's taken my pickaxe again! They don't exactly grow on trees, you know".

I figured that he might me taking about one of the special pickaxes used to mine the enchanted ice they had in these parts.

"Please, if you see Crescius, tell him to give me that pickaxe back and I'll pay you for the trouble" the Blacksmith said.

Not that we needed the money.

"What's so special about this pickaxe that you want it back so badly?" Serana asked,

"It's the only tool tough enough to crack Stalhrim," he told the vampire. "Not many of those beauties left in the world. Forging them is a lost art. The one Crescius "borrowed" came from the Skaal Village up north. I, uh, traded them some goods for it".

I frowned upon hearing that as I suspected that his acquiring of the pickaxe hadn't been totally honest, not that I was fit to judge such things.

"Stalhrim's some kind of ore?" Serana asked.

I'd not told her about the material, it hadn't been a topic of conversation while on the way to the island. Although really it should have been since we'd discussed pretty much everything else on the way here.

"Calling stalhrim an ore is like calling my forge a campfire" said the Blacksmith "Some folks say it's "enchanted ice," but I think there's more to it than that".

Well it was a building material for weapons and armour in the game so maybe I could forge a cool sword with some of the stalhrim, and give the weapon a strong frost enchantment. I did so love magic swords.

Although given the world I was going to next, and the affect Hogwarts had on technology, I'd be better off forging a few daggers with decent frost enchantments for those of us who would be attending the school.

"I assume it's rare" I asked.

The game was a much smaller scale than the real thing so there could be more of the stuff about in reality.

"I don't think I've come across more than a chunk or two in my lifetime, and smithing's my trade" I was told "If you're looking to learn more, you should head over to the Skaal Village. Someone there's bound to know more about it than I do".

That was part of my plans.

"I'll keep that in mind" I said "For now we'll track down this Crescius Caerellius".

There was quest involving that man I was sure, and were there was a quest there was a reward.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

When I asked around about Crescius Caerellius, everyone pointed me to the closed mine as the place he was most likely to be. I headed up there, my ladies in tow, and pulled open the old wooden door.

It creaked loudly as we all stepped into the dark tunnels. The only light came from the lanterns that hung up on the rough stone walls. Old crates marked with the sign of the East Empire Company sat scattered about.

Ahead, I heard two voices arguing.

"Damn it, woman! I said to leave me be!" a man was saying.

Clearly a domestic argument was taking place.

"Crescius, last time you explored the mine you almost fell to your death" said a woman, "I'm not spending the rest of my days as a widow!".

While I normally wouldn't listen to such debates or interrupt them I did have business with Crescius Caerellius.

"And I'm telling you that I'll do whatever it takes to find my great-grandfather's remains" the man was now saying "He's down there, I can feel it."

The two speakers stood facing each other at the other end of the room ahead. One was an old Imperial man, the other a Dunmer woman.

"That was almost two centuries ago," she persisted. "There may be nothing left to find".

Crescius Caerellius wasn't willing to listen.

"Just let me go, woman!" he yelled.

"Crescius, you're an obstinate old fool and you're going to get yourself killed!" the woman yelled

She stormed past me and out of the mine.

"Who in the blazes are you? Can't you see I'm busy?" Crescius Caerellius said.

There was no sign of the pickaxe, not that I wanted the quest to be this easy as if I remembered correctly there was an old mine here and there could be ore to gather.

"Doing what?" I questioned

"Why should I tell you? I don't even know who you are" said Crescius Caerellius.

He was clearly not in the best mood. If I wanted to get the mess sorted out, it would be better to just play along.

"Maybe I might be able to help" I offered.

I then made a hand gesture as I called upon the Force.

"You do need help" I said.

The Mind Trick worked, but only because the old Imperial in front of me didn't need much convincing.

"I do need help" said Crescius Caerellius

The trick didn't last long, but it didn't need to I'd just given him a little nudge.

"Been difficult trusting people lately," he told me "They think I'm crazy. But mark my words; these mines hold a secret that could put Raven Rock back on the map".

That did sound interesting.

"What sort of secret?" Morgana wished to know.

Crescius now seemed eager to talk

"A secret the East Empire Company swept under the rug two centuries ago" he confined "It killed my great-grandfather, and left Raven Rock with a worthless and tainted mine".

I couldn't recall much about this quest, as even my advanced mind couldn't recall all the details of a game that I hadn't played in decades, so I was eager to learn more.

"Who was your great-grandfather?" Serana enquired.

"Gratian Caerellius. He spent his entire life exploring ancient ruins across Tamriel and died in these very mines almost two hundred years ago" Crescius Caerellius answered.

"How?" Forestwind wondered.

Crescius frowned.

"The East Empire Company called it "a terrible accident," claiming that he was lost in a rock fall, but I know better" he said.

Perhaps he was murdered in order to cover something up.

"What do you have for proof?" I asked.

We soon found out.

"My wife and I were cleaning out our family home, and we came across some of my great-grandfather's things locked in an old chest" Crescius Caerellius told us "I found an unsent letter he'd written to the East Empire Company and a key".

Now this did sound like a mystery.

"Well, what did the letter say?" was my follow up question.

"It describes a discovery that was made in the mine by some of the diggers," he explained. "They wanted Gratian to take a closer look. The East Empire Company must have felt it was of great value, as they locked that section of the mine off from everyone else".

A company wouldn't seal off part of a profitable mine unless they really had to.

"So the key is for that locked area?" I asked.

Crescius paused for a moment and shrugged.

"Well, I assume it is. I haven't been able to find the entrance" he admitted "I know I don't have much to go on. I have that unsent letter, and that's really it. But I also have a miner's instinct that's run in my family from before Gratian was even born. I may sound like a crazy old man to you, but I'm telling you, the tunnels here are solid. They would never collapse like that".

With the Force I could sense his honesty, but that only meant that he believed in what he was saying, no that it was true. Still I knew that there was more going on here than it might seem.

"I'll admit it does sound a bit suspicious," I admitted.

Crescius laughed.

"Finally! Someone who believes me" he half yelled I'm telling you… there's something big down there, something that the East Empire Company wanted to hide from everyone, but, my wife nags me, telling that I'm too old to go traipsing around these mines at my age. Time's my enemy. It's caught up with me before I could find the answers that I'm looking for. But I want to know what happened to Gratian, and what the East Empire Company is keeping from all of us".

It looked like I was going to go delving into the mine. Could be fun.

"Any idea where I should start?" I asked

"Gratian kept a journal of notes about his discoveries. If you can find his… remains, I'm hoping it will help" said the old man as he passed me some stuff "Here's everything I have. The letter, the key".

There had be something of value down there so I might as well go look.

"Please, do this for me so I can finally regain the respect that I've lost" Crescius Caerellius pleaded.

Pocketing the letter and the key, I climbed down the nearby ladder that led deeper into the mine. It was pitch black down there, so I popped on my sunglasses so that I'd be able to see and make sure that those who needed to do did the same.

My sunglasses were actually a bit of very advanced technology that offered a wide range of vision to the wearer, and also provided a hook up to my omni-tool, making it easier to talk to Cortana. I had plenty of these devices as during the Star Wars Jump I'd spent some time just making cool gadgets.

Now that I could see everything I saw that tough stone walls surrounded me and as I moved I heard the wooden boards that wound down further into the depths creak and groan beneath our feet.

I also noted the pieces of mining equipment lying here and there were all covered with cobwebs. None of them looked like they'd been touched in years, and none of it had any value to me so I left the stuff alone.

As a group we went down, and before long I felt my feet met the floor of the pit, and so headed into one of the tunnels that branched off from the main shaft.

The bottom of my tunnel dead-ended in a wall covered with wooden planks. At first I thought that it might have just been there to support the stone behind it from caving in, but Cortana let me know otherwise.

I tapped my knuckles against the planks and sure enough there was an empty space behind them.

"Let me get that for you" Cameron offered.

She I ripped the boards away with ease and I saw that there was another tunnel and, blocking that, an old iron gate. I stepped into the newly-revealed passage, brushing away the cobwebs that hung in my path. Taking out the key, I inserted it into the gate's lock. It turned and the gate opened with a shrill creak.

The tunnel on the other side quickly turned into something else entirely. The mine's uneven walls were replaced with cut stone which were decorated with swirling designs, the likes of which I'd only ever seen in ancient Nordic tombs. Sure enough, burial alcoves lined either side of the hall. The ruin was partially flooded; water sloshed around my feet as I walked.

Was this what they'd called Crescius's great-grandfather down into the mine for? Because they'd found that old ruin? There didn't seem to be anything special down here other than the ruin itself, and there was no sign of Gratian Caerellius or anything else of importance. Just some old draugr, and these weren't the moving type so I ignored them not wanting to bother the dead.

We soon came across a large cavern that was lined with stone columns. Twin waterfalls fell from the ceiling, the water running off somewhere to the right. Between them, lit braziers illuminated stairs that led up to some kind of round door. Just before it I could make out what looked like a skeleton.

Carefully, I hopped down onto craggy rocks below the ledge and made my way over, knowing that the ladies would follow. As I walked, I noticed the mummified bodies of several draugr around the cave as well as another skeleton lying at the foot of the stairs. I skirted around it and up onto the raised area.

The skeleton in front of the door lay on top of a tattered old bedroll. An old lantern sat beside it, along with several potion bottles, a quill and inkwell, a satchel, a strange sword… and a leather-bound journal. I knelt down and picked it up, carefully turning the old pages so I didn't tear them.

_30 Rain's Hand 4E10_

_Received a letter from the East Empire Company today. They say that some of the miners broke through the wall in shaft three of Raven Rock Mine and found some ruins. I hope this isn't another waste of time like that fiasco they sent me to in Cyrodiil. I'll gather my assistant, Millius, and sail back to Raven Rock at first light… it'll be nice to see the old house in Solstheim again._

Well, I'd found Gratian it seemed.

I flipped through the journal reading about the Nordic ruins for a bit, and something about the "Bloodskal clan" which I had never heard a word about before now.

_11 Second Seed 4E10_

_It's been an astonishing day of discovery! After exploring the large chamber beyond the dropoff, I was startled to find the strangest weapon I've ever laid eyes upon sitting on a pedestal of sorts. The blade appears to be flawless, and is emitting a faint chilling glow. Bits of parchment I found about the chamber seem to call this "The Bloodskal Blade." Not certain if I should remove it yet. I think I'll sleep on it._

_12 Second Seed 4E10_

_I've decided against my own better judgement to remove the Bloodskal Blade from its pedestal. Millius seems completely against it, but we need to bring this wondrous artefact with us when we find a way out of the barrow._

_13 Second Seed 4E10_

_I should have listened to Millius. The moment the blade was lifted, we were set upon by draugr. Millius fought bravely, but he fell. I was able to destroy the remaining ones, but I was badly wounded. I can barely stand. My only chance would be finding a way out of this place, but I fear that I'm trapped._

_14? Second Seed 4E10_

_Exploring has been slow. I can only move for maybe a few minutes at a time before I have to rest. My supplies are running low, and I'm feeling weaker by the hour. The only progress I've made is finding a strange door with markings on it that I've never seen. There appears to be something to them I'm missing, as they've confounded my attempts at getting through. I'll have to study this further in order to make any progress… barely can keep awake. I'm fairly certain that the key to the door involves the use of the Bloodskal Blade. When swinging the weapon, I'm noticing a ribbon of mystical energy emanating from it. I think by swinging the sword in different directions, it's possible to manipulate this ribbon and solve whatever puzzle this door presents. I hope to get well enough to put this to the test soon… each swing is a huge effort._

_Last entry_

_I've lost track of time and my strength is fading. I can't even stand anymore. My wounds refuse to heal. I'm afraid this tomb will become my resting place. If anyone finds this journal, please send these notes to my superiors at the East Empire Company and tell my wife that I love her._

_May Arkay guide me to my final rest._

I closed the journal and pocketed, intending to return it to the man who had sent me on this quest. Then I picked up the "Bloodskal Blade" from its place next to the pile of bones. It was heavy and did indeed seem to have a faint red glow.

Looking up, I saw that the markings on the stone door seemed to be glowing as well. Brightest of all was the one that ran right down the middle. It also seemed to be pulsing slightly.

Gratian mentioned in his notes that he thought the blade was the key, and that it released some kind of energy. Hefting it, I swung the sword.

Sure enough, a flash of red light shot from the blade and hit the mark running down the door. The lights died the moment they touched and, with a loud grinding sound, the door split apart.

"Well that was easy" I said.

How had Gratian not been able to figure this out it had taken me seconds. Well not everyone could be as clever as me. Still it would be best to leave now rather than to tempt fate and somehow end up stuck down here.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock. Solstheim**

"You're back!" Crescius cried out when he saw us.

He'd returned to his house, which was where we'd found him, after getting directions from another rude guard.

"Please, tell me what you found" he requested.

I reached into my pouch of holding.

"You were right," I said, holding out the journal to him.

He took it from me and flipped through the pages.

"Ha, I knew it! Gratian's death wasn't because of a rockfall. It was just a story to keep people away from the tombs" he said "Now that I have his journal in hand, I can get some closure from the East Empire Company. Make them pay for lying to everyone".

I didn't think that would happen as large companies had ways of getting out of trouble. Not that this was my concern. I'd done what I had set out to do by going into the mine and now I had another cool sword for my collection of enchanted weapons.

"Thank you" the man said to me "Now, I believe I owe you a little more than a debt of gratitude for all that work you did".

Given the cool sword I'd gotten there was no need for further reward, but I should get the item I'd actually come for.

"I want the pickaxe" I said "The blacksmith's. He wants it back".

Crescius scowled upon hearing that.

"The damn fool doesn't even deserve to have it! The pickaxe was made for mining, not selling. I'll bet he stole it from the Skaal in the first place" the old man.

I didn't exactly doubt that.

"Even if that is the case you know it doesn't belong to you either" I pointed out.

The two of us just started at each other for a moment.

"Oh, very well," he relented with a sigh.

Going over to one of the barrels in the corner, he pulled an ancient pickaxe from behind it. Handing to me, he said,

"Here. Tell him I hope he drops the thing on his foot" said the old man.

I left the house and hurried up the street. The blacksmith, who had been sharpening a blade, looked up at my approach.

"Got it," I said, holding it up for him to see.

He snorted in amusement.

"So, you tracked down old Crescius, eh" the then said "Quite a character, isn't he?".

That was one way of putting it.

"He seemed nice enough" I replied.

The blacksmith rolled his eyes at that.

"If you say so. Tell you what. Since you went through all the trouble of finding it for me and all, you keep it" the man offered.

Hearing this surprised me.

"After all that? Why?" I asked.

The Blacksmith shrugged.

"I just wanted to remind that codger you can't just go around taking things from other people. Now that you've delivered the message, I'm satisfied" he told me "Besides, that pickaxe hasn't done me any good in years. Maybe you can put it to good use".

Maybe I could.


	10. Chapter 10

**Jump Chain Gothic 7- ****Skyrim 2 - Winterhold **

**Part 10**

**Skaal Village. ****Solstheim**

This time it was snowflakes rather than ash which fluttered down all around me as I trudged up to the Skaal village with my companions at my side. The pickaxe the blacksmith had given me was tucked under my arm.

If what Crescius said about the Blacksmith stealing it was at all true, they deserved to have it back. Besides, they likely had samples of the enchanted ice or at could tell me about the substance, assuming that they didn't let me keep the pick long enough to gather samples myself.

Up ahead, at the edge of the village, I saw two people arguing.

"Deor, you must be calm," the woman said, holding onto the man's arm. "I'm sure there's a good reason Baldor left us."

He shrugged her off.

"Something isn't right, Fanari. I feel it in my bones and I smell it in the air" said the man called Deor "Baldor wouldn't leave without telling someone".

"Don't worry yourself over nothing, Deor. Do you want a head full of gray hairs before you've seen forty winters?" said Fanari.

"It makes my heart heavy that you don't believe me, Fanari" Deor was now saying "Baldor, could be in danger, and you will do nothing. If you won't help me, then I'll ask the All-Maker to send someone else who can".

I had no idea who that "All-Maker" was, but I had the distinct feeling that I was going to be that "someone".

The woman, Fanari, walked away, leaving the man standing alone. He turned to look at my group and frowned

"I am in no mood to talk, outsiders" he said" One of the Skaal has gone missing".

This island was very much lacking in friendly locals.

"Who?" I asked.

Of course I had an idea since I'd been listening to the conversation this man had just finished having.

"It is Baldor Iron-Shaper" he said As our only smith, Baldor is very important to the village".

He was also the man I was coming to see.

"Why would anyone want to kidnap him?" I asked.

The man sighed.

"Well, there is one reason that comes to mind" Deor informed us "Baldor is the keeper of an ancient tradition, the forging of Stalhrim. It is an art we Skaal hold sacred. If someone wanted to make such weapons, they would have to get that knowledge from Baldor".

Remembering what the smith had said about the ore, I could see why someone might wish to interrogate this Baldor. I would also to learn from him, but I wouldn't torture him, I'd just stun the guy, download the right memories and then leave him be.

"Did anything unusual happen around the time he went missing?" I asked.

I needed some clue as to where to look.

"Hmm." The Skaal said as he scratched his beard thoughtfully. "I do not remember Baldor acting strangely. Although, now that you ask, I did see something in the woods on the day he disappeared. I saw two elves in the far distance, dragging something behind them. Hunters often visit our lands, so I thought little of it".

There were an awful lot of elves on this island so that didn't really help.

"Where were they headed?" I asked.

He pointed in a direction

"South and west" he then said "If your road takes you that way, perhaps you could search for any sign of Baldor. The Skaal would be grateful".

I'd do more than look. I'd bring the man home.

(Line Break)

**Solstheim. Skyrim.**

The trail led me across the island to a spot southwest of Miraak's shrine. There, hidden in the woods, was a lone cabin. Like everything else on the island, it looked fairly old and worn-out.

There was a fire pit out front, and two mer sat beside it on a long, split log that served as a crude bench. Both of them were dressed in black armour trimmed with matching fur to keep away the cold. I also noted the faint gilding on it. Only one group I knew of had that particular colour scheme.

"Fucking Thalmor!" I shouted.

One of them looked up. His angled eyebrows furrowed as he spoke

"Move along. There's nothing for you here" he said.

I laughed coldly.

"Oh, but I think there is" I corrected "You wouldn't have happened to see a couple of Thalmor goons with a kidnapped Skaal around here, would you?"

He looked at his companion and let out a long sigh.

"All you had to do was keep away. What a pity" one of them said.

Together, they both jumped to their feet and raced toward me, drawing their weapons.

"I need souls!" Morgana yelled.

Cameron was already moving, but she need not have bothered as I soon had both of the Elf Nazis up in the air, they both looked as if they were being held up on invisible gallows.

"Someone cast Soul Trap" I requested.

Morgana already had a black soul gem and the dark star in her hands. Serana tagged both of the elves with the spell and then I dropped them to the ground before telling Cameron to just shoot them.

When she did there were no bodies afterwards as she vaporised them, but that didn't prevent their souls from filling the two gems. I had no idea where Morgana had gotten a black soul gem from. The Midden under the College most likely.

Once was that was done hurried into the cabin, telling the others to stay behind. Through the Force I could sense one person, and I could feel that he was human and a little scared.

The cabin appeared to be a normal, if somewhat rundown, house. At one end of the room, however, was a set of stairs leading down. I descended cautiously in case of traps.

There was another room down there with some sparse furniture. At the far end of the room, huddled in the shadows, was a hunched figure. The stairs creaked beneath my feet and I saw him look up at me.

"I have been taken against my will! I am in need of rescue!" he shouted

It was Baldor, I was sure of that. He was dressed completely in furs, just like the rest of the Skaal. His hands were bound behind his back so I drew my knife and cut him free. I always carried a knife somewhere on my person, they often came in handy.

"Thank the All-Maker that you have come" said Baldor "These accursed elves have taken me from my home".

"Do you need any healing?" I offered.

He shook his head.

"No. No, my wounds are not serious. I don't think the elves were trying to harm me. Perhaps they intended to frighten me" he told me "At worst, I have a few bruises to show for my ordeal".

Then he was luckier than most who'd been at the 'mercy' of the Nazis elves.

"Did the Thalmor say why they abducted you?" I asked.

The reason seemed obvious, but since I wanted this man to share his secrets with me it seemed best to open a dialogue and keep talking. I could take what I wanted, however I'd rather he just give it to me.

"I do not know this word 'Thalmor'" he said, "but if you mean the elves, they were trying to learn the secrets of forging Stalhrim. Their leader, an elf named Ancarion, has a map. He says that it shows the location of a hidden source of Stalhrim".

Now that was interesting. I had the pickaxe so I could harvest the enchanted ice myself and then return the tool later.

"And where can I find this Ancarion?" I asked.

The Skall was happy to answer my question.

"They have a ship" he told me "They took my there and showed me the map. You will find it on the northern coast of the island. Please, do not let Ancarion make his weapons. Kill him or let him live, but take the map from him. It belongs with the Skaal".

My probes would quickly find the ship, and I would bring the map to the village after I'd scanned it into my records.

"Don't worry," I assured the Blacksmith "I'll stop them".

But first of all I needed to help myself to a little information he had that I would learn from making copies of the right memories. It wouldn't do the smith any harm, he wouldn't even remember me taking anything from him.

(Line Break)

**Solstheim. Skyrim.**

Just as Baldor had said, there was a ship moored on the northern end of Solstheim, settled below the sheer cliffs of ice. Barrels and crates sat on or near the dock that the Thalmor had erected there.

I'd sent Forestwind back to the Skall Village to ensure that Baldor got home safely as he he'd given me the information I desired, and while that meant I had no use for the man, I was grateful for his knowledge even if he hadn't chosen to give it to me. Which meant I didn't have as many people as I had before, but that wouldn't matter.

One of the Thalmor agents stood guard at the stairs leading up to the dock. He glared at me in a distinctly unfriendly way as my group approached.

"You are trespassing here. I strongly suggest you move along" he advised.

I was amused by this. I could easily have killed this man and everyone on the ship, but I didn't think I would need to kill them all. I just wanted the map. I should at least try diplomacy, and if that failed, then they could all die.

"Ancarion runs all of this, yes?" I asked. "I have some business to discuss with him".

He regarded me coolly for a moment before pointing to the ship.

"You will find him on the deck. Any hint of treachery, and your life is forfeit" I was warned.

I marched up onto the ship. There, as promised, the Altmer who must have been Ancarion stood on the deck, examining what appeared to be a map. He was dressed in the gold-trimmed hooded robes that signified his higher rank, though they seemed warmer than the ones I'd seen in the past. My footsteps creaked over the deck's wooden planks and he turned sharply at the sound.

"Leave at once," he order.

When I didn't move he bothered to turn around and address me.

"Do not test me, or I promise that you will regret it" he threatened.

I was unmoved by his words.

"Ancarion I'm here about the Stalhrim map," I said. "The one you're holding, I assume".

He lowered it slowly, rolling it back up as he did, and watched me with wary eyes.

"So you know my purpose here" he stated "I suppose you must have found that dullard of a blacksmith".

Indeed I had.

"I did" I confirmed.

He chuckled. The sound was as cold and unforgiving as the cliffs that loomed above us.

"My mission here is a secret, unfortunately I have no choice but to silence you" he said "Take them".

I lashed out with my powers slamming the Nazis boss against the ship's mast so hard that the wood cracked. He slid to the deck and lay still. I could sense that he was already dying.

Footsteps thundered against the dock and I whirled around to see the other Thalmor agents running toward us with weapons drawn.

"One each" I said.

There were four soldiers and four of us so it worked out well. I saw Serana move with speed greater than any mortal, she grabbed a guard and began to feed. I was sure that the taste was simply dreadful, and not that long the sight of a vampire feeding would have bothered me quite a bit. It was amazing what you could get used to.

Cameron simply shot her enemy, vaporising him with all the effort of changing a channel on TV with the remote. Morgana used Destruction magic to set her target aflame, which didn't led to a quick death, not that the Thalmor deserved such a thing.

I waited until my foe was able to strike before I took my lightsaber in hand, ignited it, and struck the High Elf down before he could land a blow.

Once that was done I grabbed the map from Ancarion, and stripped him of his robes.

"The officers have enchanted robes" I said to Morgana "You can learn the enchantments from them".

After everyone got off the boat I used one of my near-ascended abilities to cause a few lightning strikes to hit the small ship. The wooden planks of the dock of the ship exploded and fire spread over the crates and soon the sail was burning.

"I fucking hate Thalmor" I said.

(Line Break)

**Skaal Village. Solstheim. **

"It is good to see you again, my friend," Baldor said when I returned to the Skaal Village.

He stood by the forge, looking anxious.

"Did you find the elves at their ship?" he asked.

That I had.

"I did" I said, while holding the scroll out to him "and I've brought you the map to the Stalhrim source"

He took it with a smile.

"I know you faced great danger to bring this map to me. There are no words to tell how glad my heart is" he said "Thank you, brave one."

Remembering why I'd gone to the Skaal Village in the first place, I unstrapped the pickaxe from my back.

"Oh, and there's also this" I said.

After unwrapping it, I held it out to Baldor. I didn't need it anymore as I'd already collected my samples.

"I got this from a man in Raven Rock. I think he stole it" I said.

"Yes one our pickaxes has gone missing" he said, taking it from me as well.

"Until out next meeting, Skaal-friend. May your hunts always bring you game and your crops grow tall and bountiful" he said.

I assumed that was some sort of blessing.

"Thank you" I said.

That seemed to be it, and I knew that it was time to move on. With that in mind I headed out, knowing that somewhere on this island there was a wizard who I might be able to learn from.

(Line Break)

**Tel Mithryn. Solstheim**

"Have you seen Varona? I'm hungry," Neloth whined.

I and lifted my head from the table I'd been reading out in order to look at the wizard. While he was a smart man no doubt, and he had access to plenty of materials I desired, he was a pain in the ass to hang around with.

"No, I haven't seen her" I'd said.

I'd come here eager to learn from this Dark Elf. However, I was beginning to regret my decision.

"Well, find her, and tell her I want a bowl of cabbage stew, with some canis root tea" he said.

He was like an overgrown child at times.

"Why don't you just make your own dinner?" I asked.

He gasped and clapped at hand to his chest, clearly affronted by the suggestion

"What? Make my own tea? I am a wizard of the House Telvanni" he proclaimed "Other people make dinner for me".

By now I was understanding why Morgana had decided to study as far from the wizard as possible while not actually leaving the tower, and why Forestwind as well as Serana had gone out to gather alchemy ingredients so much. Only Cameron seemed willing to hang around near me, and she went unnoticed as she often did.

"Hold on I'm not your servant" I pointed out.

I'd traded a chunk of the enchanted ice for the privilege of being able to stay here and study for a while, and to be fair it was worth it as the sheer amount of information the wizard had acquired was staggering,.

"Obviously not, or you would have a cup of tea in your hands" my host said "I suppose you want to be asked nicely. Very well".

He cleared his thought.

"Please, Gothic go and find Varona" he requested "I shall be ever so grateful".

Grumbling, I pushed away from the table and got to my feet before ordering Cameron to stay here and keep an eye on Morgana. My beloved wife might try to kill the old wizard if he talked to her and Cameron could prevent that, or maybe she'd join in with the murdering. I wasn't sure I'd care either way.

I chose to ignore the wizard's smirk as I crossed the laboratory and descended the tower. When I stepped out the front door, I saw Talvas, the apprentice mage, standing out in the ash. Clearly he was still experimenting with that spell.

"Hey," I called out to him. "Have you seen Varona?"

He didn't even look up.

"Not recently. Neloth's been keeping me very busy with spell research" I was told "Ask Elynea. She and Varona seem to be quite friendly".

The Dumner known Elynea was in one of the buildings surrounding the tower. The Alchemist was busy studying bits of what looked like diseased mushroom when I poked my head in.

"Elynea, have you seen Varona recently?" I asked "Neloth's looking for her".

I had to sigh. I'd saved this world twice, and now I was running errands for a wizard who need a good punching in the face, the things I did for knowledge.

"She left for Raven Rock hours ago," the white haired women told me. "She promised to bring me back some fresh blisterwort. If you hurry, you might be able to catch up with her".

I left the tower complex, heading out into the ashlands along the trail I knew would take me toward Raven Rock. Calling upon the Force I moved at a blur, intending to make it to the small town very quickly. I wouldn't mind having another quick look around the town as I'd not explored all it had to offer as of yet.

It wasn't long before I saw something moving in the trees ahead. Humanoid figures. As I got closer, I saw what they were.

Ash Spawn, hostile creatures found here on Solstheim. They began to appear on the island after the massive volcanic eruptions of nearby Red Mountain early in the Fourth Era. This event covered the southern part of Solstheim in ash, killing countless souls, and destroying the Hirstaang Forest, which were now ash plains and the habitation of the Ash Spawn.

Ash spawn were neither alive nor dead, the Force told me that, but something in between. Upon being slain, the ash spawn would glow white-hot for a few seconds, then disintegrate along with its weapons into a smoking ash pile.

After they were slain various pieces of ore and random gems were often found in these remains. Also it was possible to harvest the alchemical ingredient spawn ash. I knew this because I'd already battled some of these creatures while running a different errand.

Despite Ash Spawn roaming the ash plains, attacking Raven Rock in numbers, and even rising in the ancestral tomb there of the Dunmer of Raven Rock, the exact origins of the Ash Spawn were still a mystery to many on Solstheim.

While stilling moving at super human speed I drew my sword, Caliburn, which could destroy the undead, and the creatures turned towards me, growling as the fight began. I stabbed one, ripping my blade through its chest, and used a blast of telekinetic power to slam the second against a nearby tree.

The last swiped at me with its own crude sword and I dodged. When it staggered, I moved and plunged my blade into its side. It roared and exploded in a heavy cloud of ash. I coughed, waving a hand in front of my face to dissipate the particles.

I finished off the Ash Spawn that I'd thrown into a tree and that was when I saw Varona. She lay sprawled out in the ash behind the tree, her red eyes wide and glassy. She was dead, and probably had been for a while.

While I could return people to life it didn't work if they'd been dead too long, something to do with the soul moving on I guessed, and when I tried to bring Varona back nothing happened.

So all I could was bring her body back to Neloth's place and let her friend Elynea deal with the body.

(Line Break)

**Tel Mithryn. Solstheim**

"Have you found Varona yet?" Neloth asked of me when I returned to the tower. "I could really use some tea".

Clearly the man lacked any real empathy or he'd be able to tell something was wrong just by looking at me.

"Varona's dead" I reported.

He seemed taken aback.

"Dead? Well, that's annoying" he said "How did she die?".

While he was shocked he clearly didn't care about Varona's fate, if anything he seemed inconvenienced. Not that I cared too much as I hadn't know the woman, but he did know her.

"There were a few Ash Spawn near her body" I told the wizard "She was probably attacked by them".

I didn't simply assume that the monsters had killed as she could have been murdered and her body placed near the Ash Spawn to cover the killers tracks, however this did seem unlikely.

"There are more and more of those things showing up around here lately," he said grimly. "I suppose you'll have to find me a new steward. Try Raven Rock. They are in awe of me there. I'm sure almost anyone would be willing to serve me".

I highly doubted that.

"And what kind of person should I be looking for?" I asked.

I wanted to stop by the town anyway, or I wouldn't have bothered.

"Hmm. Excellent question. Once word gets out, there will be a lot of people to choose from. Someone with a brilliant mind and a robust physique that is blindly obedient would be ideal" my host said" Oh, and they need to know how to brew tea. Ulves always waters it down".

Despite the grimness of the situation I couldn't help laughing upon hearing that last part.

(Line Break)

**Raven Rock.**** Solstheim**

Unsurprisingly, almost no one wanted the job.

"Are you nuts?" the bar tender had cried when I asked him about it. "Neloth is crazy! I hear he talks to mud crabs".

I'd never seen him do that, but I wouldn't put it past him.

"Do you know anyone that might be willing to take the job?" I asked.

There had to be someone around here stupid enough to the job.

"It would have to be someone pretty desperate," he mused, scratching his head. "You might ask Drovas. Lately he seems to be hard up for coin".

My ability to care about this task was waning fast so I got on with it.

"Where can I find him?" I asked

"Upstairs, probably" I was told.

I went up to the upper floor of the bar, not feeling much hope. Neloth wouldn't be happy, but would I care? Not really. It wasn't as if I'd be sticking around for much longer as I'd scanned most of his books already. Mostly I was just sorting through his notes for useful titbits of information.

The only person upstairs was a skinny Dunmer sitting on a long bench by the fire. He looked up at my approach, seeming a bit nervous.

"Are you Drovas?" I asked him.

He nodded.

"Yes. What can I do for you?" I was asked,

"Would you be interested in being the new steward of Tel Mithryn?" I enquired.

The mer stared at me.

"You mean leave Raven Rock? For good? To go work for a crazed Telvanni wizard? Sure. Just let me get my things" he said.

That hadn't actually been sarcastic.

"You're awfully eager about this" I noted.

"Well, I've never been one to pass up an opportunity" he said "I'll make my own way there. Bye".

Before I could fully process what had just happened. I heard a low, menacing chuckle from nearby. My eyes narrowed and I turned around to see that there was an orc standing behind me. Beside him was a tall Dunmer dressed in chitin armour. Neither of their expressions seemed pleasant.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

My tone of voice made it clear that I didn't really want to help.

"Drovas Relvi owes me one thousand Septims. At least he did until you set him up with that Telvanni wizard" I was told "Now he's untouchable. The way I figure it, it's your fault he can't pay me. So I guess I'm going to have to collect it from you".

The people on this island were very unfriendly. I was starting to wonder if they'd been worth saving, twice.

"And if I chose not to pay you?" I asked.

Of course I could pay, I just wouldn't

"Nothing for now, but watch your back. I'll be sending collectors to find you. They won't ask so nicely. One way or the other, I'll get my money" I was told.

Calling upon the Force I used the Jedi Mind trick to make them go away and forgot about the debt. It might not hold, but I'd be long gone by the time they remembered.

(Line Break)

**Tel Mithryn. Solstheim**

"I found you a new steward!" I called out, while landing on the platform at the top of the shaft leading up the tower.

Neloth sat at one of the desks examining what looked like a briarheart from one of the Forsworn.

"That Drovas man? I suppose he'll do. He makes dreadful canis root tea, though" I was informed.

To emphasise his point, he pushed the cup that sat on the desk further away. I was impressed that Drovas had gotten here so quickly. I'd detoured on the way back to gather resources form more Ash Spawn I'd killed earlier, and then ended up killing more, but Drovas must have really huffed it to get here and to start work before I returned.

"But I should be grateful," he said, sounding resigned. "Here, take this for your efforts".

This time I got a quest reward that I really wanted. It was a spell book, Summon Dremora Merchant. This was actually useful.

"Everything that can go wrong is going wrong," I heard the wizard grumble. "Ash spawn attacks, my house, and even my steward is assassinated. There are too many coincidences. There must be someone behind all of my recent troubles".

I was sure that there was.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Ash Spawn keep appearing. One night a part of my tower mysteriously withered. Then my steward was killed. I've even been attacked by dragons! Do I need to go on?" he said.

I gave him a weary look.

"The dragons aren't about you, Neloth" I said.

They were bothering everyone.

"Maybe not. I hear they've been seen over Skyrim too" the mage admitted.

I rolled my eyes.

"Even so, there is more than enough evidence that someone is out to get me" he said "I have enemies. Legions of them back in Morrowind. However, in this case I have reason to believe it is someone here in Solstheim".

To be fair there did seem to be some hostility directed towards my host, and I was sure that it involved the Ash Spawn and some woman. Not that this would surprise me at all as the Dark Elf mage must have pissed off a lot of people in his time.

"I suppose you want me to kill them?" I asked.

They killed the steward so someone should deal with this unknown threat before anyone else died.

"Not yet. That may come later. First I need to identify the culprit" I was told.

He got to his feet and pulled a small box off of one of the laboratory's shelves. Opening it, he pulled out a plain-looking ring.

"I've enchanted this ring to find the source of the attacks. Here, take it" he instructed.

I'd not known enchantment could do that sort of thing. I should have Morgana look into it.

"How does it work?" I asked.

"Just wear it. It will light up the source when you get close to it" he instructed "I enchanted the ring with a bit of ash from the last ash spawn attack. It can follow the magical link back to its summoner".

I had something else to ask.

"How close do I need to be?" I wondered.

"The link is weak, so you'll have to be within about a hundred feet of the source" he said o me "Try walking around the grounds".

I slipped the ring on and left the tower. For a long time, I trudged the complex's ashy grounds, seeing nothing. Then I caught a faint, bluish glow out of the corner of my eye. Turning in that direction, I headed down the hill.

The glow led me to a small area near the beach enclosed by a short rock wall. A tall pine tree grew at one end, surrounded by deathbell flowers. I also saw some stone monuments along with what looked suspiciously like sarcophagi rested within the wall's confines. It was a graveyard, and the glow seemed to be coming from inside one of the Sarcophagi. It looked vaguely human in shape.

I approached cautiously, drawing my sword in case of undead and examined the area. The sarcophagus was carved with designs of stylized beetles. The name etched into the plaque on the side read "Ildari".

When I slid back the lid, the glow vanished. There was nothing inside, save for a round, fist-sized chunk of lava rock that pulsed with a reddish glow. A heart stone. I grabbed it and headed back up to the tower.

(Line Break)

**Tel Mithryn. Solstheim**

Neloth hadn't moved from his place at the desk when I stepped back into the laboratory. Holding up the heart stone clutched in my fist I showed it to the wizard.

"I found this. It's the source of the attacks" I explained.

The wizard looked up with a frown, his red gaze catching on the stone.

"I've known for decades that heart stones will animate the ash, but it would have to be very close by" he said "Where exactly did you find this heart stone?".

If the stones could animate ash and make monsters I should collect some. My robots might not function in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was the next Jump if all went to plan. Although if these gems only animated the local ash then they'd be a bit useless elsewhere.

"In the grave of someone named, Ildari" I answered.

My host didn't seem surprised by this news.

"Ildari? Then it's my own fault. She was my apprentice before Talvas. She… volunteered for one of my experiments involving heart stones" he told me "It was quite annoying when she died".

Death did seem to annoy this man. I wondered if he'd more upset when it was time for him to die? I might kill him myself just to find out.

"There was no body in that coffin" I said.

"What?" he asked.

I saw his red eyes widening.

"That's impossible" the mage insisted.

He looked back down at the briarheart in front of him, his brow furrowing.

"Unless she didn't actually die" the mage mused "The heart stone could have kept her right at the edge of life and death. Could it be? Could Ildari still be alive? Could she be my nemesis?"

I assumed that he wasn't talking to me.

"Wait a moment while I cast a more specific divination" my host instructed.

He got to his feet and I took a few steps back.

_"I call upon the powers of the sun, moons, and stars. Ildari Sarothril, reveal yourself!"_

Green light ran from his hands up his arms. When it passed over his chest, it turned brilliantly red and sent sparks careening through the air.

_"She lives. Seek her in Highpoint Tower"._

The light quickly faded and the wizard shook his head.

"So," he said "Ildari does live after all. She thought she could hide from me, but she can't!".

I needed a moment because that spell was unlike anything I'd seen before. I'd been right to come here. This mage might be a twat, but clearly he knew his trade.

"She'll know if I go for her" my host said "Go kill her for me would you, and bring back her heart".

Well I should stop her from using the ash spawn form killing people, and perhaps she had some loot I'd like to take with me to the next world.

(Line Break)

**Highpoint Tower. Solstheim**

Ildari's base of operations was mostly buried in a thick layer of grey-brown ash. The tower interior was dark and, unsurprisingly filled with many Ash Spawn. I found a journal near the door, presumably one that belonged to Ildari.

_The fools have taken me in. Weak, pathetic men intent on looting this ancient fortress with their crude mining. Niyya is pleasant enough. I may choose to spare her when the time comes._

_I'm still weak from Neloth's betrayal. He promised me power and glory. He failed to mention the constant pain. And the voices. By the Three, I would do anything to not hear the voices._

_When my strength returns, I will have my vengeance upon my former master. I can feel the power of the heart stone beating inside me. I need to find a way to tap into its power. Then he shall pay in blood and fire and ash._

I took what was clearly a wrong turn ahead. It led me into a room with a dead end. Set into three of the walls were small cells set with iron bars. Two contained skeletons. A Redguard woman lay curled up on the floor in the third. She looked up at the sound of my footsteps.

"Help!" she called out, while scrambling to her feet. "Please, help me!"

I used a rather minor alteration spell to undo the lock. It only worked on the most simple of locks, anything more complex and I would have needed the Skeleton Key, or I could have had Cameron just rip the door off its hinges.

"Thank you for rescuing me" said the woman "That witch was going to kill me soon, I just know it".

The witch, she must mean Ildari.

"What can you tell me about her?" I asked.

The woman I'd just saved was eager to tell me everything she could.

"We were digging in these mines when she found us. She was hurt so bad" I was told "We took pity on her and nursed her back to health. She repaid our kindness by attacking us in the middle of the night. Those of us that didn't die were made prisoners".

I'd been right to come after Ildari, clearly she needed a good killing.

"What did she do with them?" I asked,

"Horrible things. Experiments… and worse" I was informed.

The woman shuddered.

"I'm the last one. The others are all dead now" the woman said next "If you find her, don't make her end quick".

I nodded to the hall I'd come from.

"Go back that way. Get to safety" I instructed.

The former prisoner obeyed me.

"Thanks. Good luck to you" she said.

She ran and soon I was walking deeper into the ruins, with Cameron right behind me.. As I walked, I heard a harsh voice echo off the walls, saying,

_"Neloth is a fool to think he could send some low life to finish me off"_

So she rude and evil, all the more reason to stab her a lot. And I soon got the chance as I found the evil woman standing on the upper level glaring down at me, she was a Dunmer dressed in reddish-brown robes. The robes had been modified in the front, revealing the heart stone embedded in her chest.

Beside her, two pillars topped with charged soul gems shot blasts of fire at me and Cameron. While my Terminator was knocked down I dodged thanks to my strong connection to the Force and raced for the stairs that would lead me up to Ildari's level. I heard her laughing as I did. It was a harsh, twisted sound.

I reached the top and dashed across a stone bridge to reach her, drawing my sword. Lightning fast, she raised her gilded, dragon-headed staff to block my strike. Which of course didn't work as Caliburn broke the staff.

"The heart stone protects me!" the woman shouted

I smirked.

"Maybe, but what's protecting your heart stone?" I mockingly asked.

With a sharp tug of telekinetic power, I ripped the red gem free of her chest, and Ildari let out a strangled scream before falling dead at my feet. It hadn't been quick, but it had sure looked painful.

I stepped back, stone still clutched in my fist, feeling almost pitying as I gazed down at the dead mer. At least it was over, and Cameron looked okay me.

"Okay let's loot the place and then get out of her" I said.

I did so love the looting part. I knew once that was done that we'd soon be living this island as I didn't think I'd be able to put up with my host for much longer and it really wasn't a nice place to stay.

We could go back to the mainland for a while, and gather up the supplies we required for the next Jump. I was eager to move as this was suppose to have only been a pit stop along the way.


End file.
